Meet Our Grantee-Partner: 916 Ink
Mission: 916 Ink is Sacramento’s arts-based creative writing and literacy nonprofit that provides workshops and tutoring to transform Sacramento youth into strong readers, confident communicators, and published authors.
916 Ink envisions a Sacramento region where every child and teen can access culturally relevant creative writing programs. To this end, 916 Ink staff and volunteers facilitate programs for students in grades 3-6 that seek to increase literacy, improve vocabulary, teach empathy, positively impact social and emotional learning, and expand communication skills. The programming encourages young people to believe in themselves, see themselves as creative, and understand the power of the written word. Since 2010, 916 Ink has published more than 5,000 young authors and 200 professional anthologies of student work.
916 Ink prioritizes serving students who have been identified by the State of California as needing additional instructional support. This includes youth who are living in poverty, experiencing homelessness, involved in the juvenile justice system, foster youth, English language learners, and ethnic or racial subgroups. 916 Ink programs provide these students with a venue to solve problems, engage with peers and trusted adults, and build academic confidence.
Being in this writing group, I got the chance to be able to express myself through writing and it has helped me to be able to come out of my shell. This writing project has helped me to get back into journaling and writing poetry, as well as seeing that everyone has or is going through something, through hearing the other pieces of writing. Being able to have a writing group with an actual author guiding us has also helped my writing to improve. Finally, what I got out of this is that everyone has a voice, whether it’s through writing or verbally, and that just being able to read your writing pieces can make you feel so much better. It is a good way of coping and venting through our everyday lives and challenges.
—high school student and 916 Ink program participant
Poetry has been an impactful tool for inspiring students and getting them excited about creative writing. Many students come with a static opinion about poetry, and they are encouraged to explore and experiment with the form through a series of writing prompts. 916 Ink believes that when a student has the space to play with poetry in many forms, they gain a deeper understanding of literary devices and techniques and their own ability to create and communicate through poetry.
Photo courtesy of 916 Ink.
After receiving a Poetry Programs, Partnerships, and Innovation grant, 916 Ink has been able to provide free genre-based poetry workshops for Sacramento students in grades 6-12. Called “Write Your Way,” these workshops cover different modes of poetic writing, including visual and hip-hop poetry. The workshops, which engage students who speak multiple languages, also help them learn how to discuss challenging topics, such as mental health. The grant helps 916 Ink fulfill the goal of supporting the growth of a vibrant and healthy Sacramento County where young people can identify and achieve their goals.
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