I first came across 826LA because of what they offer in their online store, but they have a nobler purpose. 826LA is a non-profit organization, located in southern California, helping kids aged 6 to 18 with creative and expository writing. They also help teachers who help those students. They offer tutoring, workshops, help for those learning English and more. The organization has also been covered in the local media and also on NPR. Its board of directors and advisory board also boast names you will recognize. Teaching and encouraging children to write well while using their imaginations is vital to the future quality of life for all.
"So how do I support such a worthy cause?" you may ask. Visit their store and browse their books, shirts, tickets, sundries and my favorite, their posters! The books are anthologies of writing done by the students in the program. The shirts have clever words and drawings. The tickets are for "super-exciting" benefit events. And the posters are not to be missed. They carry five different posters advertising their Time Travel Mart, addressing such issues as robots, a future ice age and space travel. Each poster is $19.99 individually, or you can buy the whole set for the reduced price of $89.99. These are all excellent gift ideas (hint, hint), and you’ll be supporting a very worthy endeavor. Now if only I could find wall space for all of them.
(Image: 826LA.org)
