Launching 826DC
Congratulations to Holly Jones and 826DC, the newest incorporated chapter of 826. TED Prize winner Dave Eggers co-founded the nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization in San Francisco and it has since expanded to 8 cities throughout the country.
Holly attended TED Palm Springs last year and has been working with a number of people from the TED community to realize her dream of incorporating an 826 Chapter in Washington. Operating up until now as Capitol Letters, the organization has been running programs in local public schools and is planning on opening a physical tutoring center next summer.
The launch of 826DC took place last week in the home of Carol Blue and Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens, master of ceremonies for the evening, set the stage for impassioned readings by some of the country’s best literary minds. Christopher Buckley opened with a reading from his memoir Losing Mom and Pup, followed by Azar Nafisi (author of Reading Lolita in Tehran) and George Pelecanos (The Wire, The Turnaround). Dave Eggers shared his compelling vision for the founding of 826, the vital role 826DC plays in the lives of District students and the need for stakeholders to continue to pledge their support. Nearly $10,000 was raised to help fund the opening of 826DC’s first home.
Thank you to all from the TED community who’ve supported Holly. If you’d like to become involved please visit www.826DC.org.
Living in the US, I am tired of watching, reading & listening about the same topics or individuals although I work hard at diversifying my sources of information. Ted has been refreshing because it brings to us important info we’re not likely to find elsewhere but benefits us all. It is dissapointing to find that the TED prize has been awarded to someone who is already a celebrity and who has the means to implement his goals on his own as he has celebrity, financial backing and access to policy makers. Although I admire Jamie Oliver’s work, I believe TED’s vast resources would be put to better use if given to people who are doing incredible & innovative work but are not getting any attention. I hope to see more indivuals from Asia, Africa & Latin America on TED.