I hope that everyone who reads this is also on our mailing list, and as such, read the full round-up on our Storymakers Dinner event in our last newsletter. (Note, if you are NOT on our mailing list, why not? You’ll get no more than thirteen emails a year, and we can assure you, they are CHOCK FULL of good information, and who doesn’t need a little more of that? Just email “subscribe” to info@826michigan.org.)
To those of you who missed our May newsletter, I’ll just say: The Storymakers Dinner was LOVELY. It was probably the best and most lovely event in 826michigan’s history. For the purposes of this wrap up, though, we’re going to stick mostly to pictures. These gorgeous photos were taken by Kate Marchewka, a stellar volunteer, whose website you should consider checking out here.
Zingerman’s made what I can only describe as uber-delicious, super-yummy food, and served it in the perfect spring setting. See?:
Our three new favorite people, students Jasmine and Justin, both published in Talking Back, Giving Thanks, and Why It Never Pays to Drink the Haterade: Huron High Students Discuss Their Experiences in Education, our new chapbook, and their teacher, Quinn Strassel, stole the show. Jasmine and Justin, quite literally, brought the crowd to tears, and Quinn gave a heart-warming speech about how helpful 826michigan has been in his classroom this year. Here they are:
Special guests also included some of the magnificent volunteers who go into the just-mentioned classroom at Huron High every Wednesday. They help the students with whatever they need help with, AND help Quinn plan lessons, AND work one-on-one and in small groups, AND a bunch of other things. From left to right, the unbelievable and beloved Katie Jones, our gorgeous and irreplaceable and oh-man-I-don’t-have-a-big-enough-vocabulary-for-how-much-I-love-her AmeriCorps member and In-school On-site Coordinator Frances Martin, and the back of the wildly intelligent and fun Mitra Dunbar’s head.
And then, of course, there was THIS guy, who we pretty much could not love and respect more if we TRIED.
Food was consumed, tears shed, hugs given, feelings of goodwill abounded, AND we managed to raise more money in one night than we’ve ever raised in one night ever before. And that, essentially, wraps it up. We WILL be doing it again next year, so be on the lookout for details, and tickets, because, yes, this event sold out, and the next one, I am quite certain, will sell out even more quickly. Many thanks to our sponsors: Clear Seas Research, our Great American Novel sponsor, as well as AnnArbor.com, Borders, Dykema, Fifth Third Bank, Kolossos, Q LTD, Third Mind Books, Thomson-Shore, and Zingerman’s.