826 Valencia is a non-profit organization in the
Mission District
The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...
of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, California, United States, dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It was the basis for the
826 National
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, improve their expository and creative writing skills at eight locations across the United States. The chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC ...
organization, which has centers on the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with the same goal.
Overview
Named for its street address, 826 Valencia was founded in 2002 by author
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
and veteran teacher
Nínive Calegari, who both have ties to the literary and educational community. 826 consists of three centers, each encompassing a writing lab, a street-front student-friendly store that partially funds the programs, and two satellite classrooms in nearby middle schools. The organization is named after the street address of the first center.
Over 1,400 volunteers—including published authors, magazine founders, SAT-course instructors, and documentary filmmakers—have donated their time to work with thousands of students. These volunteers allow 826 Valencia to offer all of its services for free.
826 Valencia opened a second location in the
Tenderloin in 2016 and another in the
Mission Bay neighborhood in 2019.
Programming
826 Valencia's programming includes-in-schools programs, workshops, field trips, after school tutoring and student publishing.
Pirate supply store
826 Valencia runs San Francisco's "only independent pirate supply store". The store is the front entrance of the tutoring center and has the look and feel of an authentic
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
shop.
It sells pirate clothing,
eyepatch
An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...
es,
compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
es, spyglasses, pirate
dice
Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...
,
skull flags, and secret treasures. It features handmade signs, scattered around the store, offering tongue-in-cheek wisdom, such as "Uses for Lard" (#5: "Lard Fights") and "Guidelines for New Shipmates" (#4: "No forgetting to swab"). Unsuspecting visitors are sometimes treated to surprise "moppings."
Shoppers can also find back issues of
''McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', books published by
McSweeney's
McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco.
Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...
, and literary compilations written by 826 Valencia students. The books of student writing published by 826 Valencia include forewords, illustrations and interviews from public figures such as Former San Francisco mayor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
and actor
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
.
The Pirate Supply Store was originally created through necessity. After being turned down for regular use of church basements and school facilities, the founders discovered an empty store on Valencia Street. City ordinances required businesses in that area of the city to be either retail or catering, so the Pirate Supply Store was opened in 2002 as the "legitimate" business front for the writing center. It also helps fund the tutoring program.
Mural
Dave Eggers commissioned cartoonist
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his ''Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (2012 ...
to design the mural for the facade of 826 Valencia's building.
The mural depicts "the parallel development of humans and their efforts at and motivations for communication, spoken and written."
The 3.9m x 6m mural was applied by artisans to Ware's specifications.
Describing the work, Ware said "I didn’t want it to make anyone 'feel good', especially in that typically muralistic 'hands across the water' sort of way,"..."I especially wanted it to be something that people living in the neighbourhood could look at day after day and hopefully not tire of too quickly. I really hoped whomever might happen to come across it would find something that showed a respect for their intelligence, and didn’t force-feed them any 'message'."
Influence
826 Valencia has inspired a number of other projects across the US, known as 'chapters'. In late 2004, just before the founding of four new chapters,
826 National
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, improve their expository and creative writing skills at eight locations across the United States. The chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC ...
was launched as an umbrella organization that provides logistical support to its chapters.
There are now nine chapters that make up 826 National: 826 Valencia,
826NYC
826NYC is a nonprofit organization located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It provides free after-school tutoring, workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. Drawing from a volunteer bas ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
826LA
826LA is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6–18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. Programs are structured around the beliefs th ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
826CHI
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, improve their expository and creative writing skills at eight locations across the United States. The chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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826michigan
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
(serving
Ann Arbor
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, and
Ypsilanti),
826 Boston
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, improve their expository and creative writing skills at eight locations across the United States. The chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
826DC in
Washington, DC
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,
826 New Orleans, and most recently,
826 MSP in Minneapolis.
826 Valencia has also inspired similar projects in several countries:
United States
* 826NYC, New York - Opened 2004
* 826LA, Los Angeles - Opened 2005
* The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas (formerly 826 Seattle), Seattle - Opened 2005
* 826 Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan - Opened 2005
* 826CHI, Chicago - Opened 2005
* 826 Boston, Boston - Opened 2007
* 826DC, Washington, D.C. - Opened 2010
* Desert Island Supply Co., Birmingham, AL - Opened 2012
* 826 New Orleans, New Orleans - Opened 2018
* 826 MSP, Minneapolis - Opened 2009, inducted into the 826 network in 2019
Canada
* Story Planet, Toronto - Opened 2011
Italy
* La Grande Fabbrica delle Parole, Milano (MI) - Opened 2009
* Porto delle Storie, Campi Bisenzio (FI) - Opened 2014
* Fronte del Borgo, Torino (TO) - Opened 2016
United Kingdom
* The Ministry of Stories, London - Opened 2010
* Grimm & Co, Rotherham, Yorkshire
Australia
* The Sydney Story Factory – founded in 2011
* 100 Story Building, Melbourne - Opened 2012
Sweden
* Berättarministeret (Ministry of Tales) - founded in 2011 with several locations in the
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
area, and since 2017 one location in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
Ireland
* Fighting Words, Dublin - Opened 2009
Austria
* W*ORT, Lustenau - Opened 2014
France
*
abo_des_Histoires,_Paris_-_Opened_2011
Netherlands
*_Noordje,_Amsterdam
Other
In_April_2010,_as_an_extension_of_the_826_Valencia_scholarship_program,_Eggers_launched_ScholarMatch,_a_nonprofit_organization_that_connects_donors_with_students_to_make_college_more_affordable.
_References
__External_links_
826_Valencia
Pirate_Store_main_page
Chris_Ware's_mural_for_826_Valencia's_facade
826_Valencia's_blog
{{Dave_Eggers.html" ;"title="ScholarMatch.html" ;"title="abo des Histoires, Paris - Opened 2011
Netherlands
* Noordje, Amsterdam
Other
In April 2010, as an extension of the 826 Valencia scholarship program, Eggers launched ScholarMatch">abo des Histoires, Paris - Opened 2011
Netherlands
* Noordje, Amsterdam
Other
In April 2010, as an extension of the 826 Valencia scholarship program, Eggers launched ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization that connects donors with students to make college more affordable.
References
External links
826 Valencia
Pirate Store main page
Chris Ware's mural for 826 Valencia's facade
826 Valencia's blog
{{Dave Eggers">state=expanded
826 National
Landmarks in San Francisco
Mission District, San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area literature
Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco
2002 establishments in California