This fall we worked with 14 community partners to host writing groups around the Portland metro area. There were 164 writers who joined our groups, and eight of those groups were led by our brand new facilitators who trained over the summer.
78 of these writers published their pieces in I’m the Ink and 42 of them read their work out loud to the crowd at our Winter Reading & Book Release on December 12.
One of the sweetest highlights of our fall series of writing groups was our return to Allen Fremont Plaza. We were last there in 2018 and this year we were able to reconnect with many of the same residents and make some new friends.
“I heard about the workshop from one of the fellow residence participants. So glad I decided to challenge my abilities to write and share this experience. I have become enriched in writing, especially the time exercises. Sharing is fun and hearing others is very enjoyable,” said Shakur Shabazz, a participant from Allen Fremont Plaza.
It is critical to mention that hosting all of these groups and compiling their work into anthologies would not have been possible this year without our 175 volunteers who contributed 3,700 hours to Write Around Portland in 2024.
If you would like to bring a writing group to your nonprofit, fill out our partner contact form or email Program Director Sarah Weller at sweller@writearound.org for more information.