Literary Los Angeles: 826LA

This week’s edition of Literary Los Angeles is also a shameless plug for one of L.A.’s most versatile, energetic, creative, and necessary literary non-profits, 826LA.

826LA is the Southern California outlet of 826 National, an organization dedicated to helping students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills.   They — or rather, we, as I also volunteer — provide afterschool on-site tutoring at our sites in Echo Park and Venice, plus class field trips, writing workshops, and in-schools programs, all totally free of charge for kids and teachers. We have a lot of fun, and we send kids home with a real, actual newspaper, book, film, script, essay, or story they penned themselves.

There are eight 826 chapters around the country, and I sat down with L.A.’s Executive Director Joel Arquillos to talk about what makes the Los Angeles chapter unique.   Arquillos was a teacher at Galileo High School in San Francisco and 826’s first Teacher of the Month.   He joined 826 Valencia shortly after in San Francisco, then helped open the Boston chapter  before returning to San Francisco as Program Director of 826 National.   He transferred to Los Angeles two years ago.

“We all have the same mission, to work with underserved public schools,” Arquillos begins. “In Los Angeles those students are predominately Latino,” says the Spanish-speaking Arquillos, and English-language learning is a key part of their programming.

Why set up shop in Echo Park? I asked.

“There are twenty thousand young people living in the 90026 zipcode,” he says, “so we’re very close here to many, many schools, and it’s also an area where a lot of our volunteers happen to live.   We need a meeting place for volunteers and young people, and Echo Park offers both of those things . . . there’s nothing else like this in this neighborhood.   And 826 has a store-front model, too, so we rely on foot traffic to keep selling products, things like lost languages in a bottle or canned mammoth meat. There needs to be a touch of whimsy in this neighborhood for these things to work.”

The store-fronts to which he refers are revenue-generating emporiums like San Francisco’s Pirate Supply Store, The Bigfoot Research Institute of Greater Boston, or our own Time Travel Mart.

All 826 locations are known for their affiliations with notable authors and artists (including founders Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida), and Los Angeles’ proximity to the entertainment industry allows 826LA access to a tremendous pool of enthusiastic and influential talent.

“We are just so lucky to have these amazing artists and actors and musicians.   And those who are not able to volunteer during the school day can volunteer by performing for an event,” Arquillos says. Comedian Paul F. Tompkins, for example, hosts monthly Dead Author Readings (in keeping with the city’s time travel theme) at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, interviewing famous dead authors in the persona of H.G. Wells.

Unfortunately, working in Los Angeles also poses some unique challenges.

“The schools [we serve],” Arquillos says, “are really far-flung, and because of the city’s unique geography, it can be hard for volunteers to drive to these places.   That’s part of why we chose Echo Park, all the kids for the after-school tutoring sessions can walk here directly from school.   We go into schools all over Los Angeles: south L.A., east L.A– Now Los Angeles is cutting back funding for school buses, so we are concentrating on schools that can reach us by walking or public transit.   And we’re bringing our programs to more schools, to those who can’t reach us easily.   We go wherever we’re needed.”

Next month 826LA will be hosting a major fundraiser, the Spelling Bee for Cheaters, a competition between 826 volunteers, community members, and celebrities like Spike Jonze, John Krasinski, Judd Apatow, and Dianna Agron.   And — at last, here comes the pitch — you can donate! To my team, The Breakfast Presidents (hint, hint) or to any other team.

And to find out more about volunteering with 826 where you live, check out the National page.