Thank you, Indiegogo Donors! You're our December 2016 Supporters of the Month!

So much of 2016 has been a celebration of the outstanding growth into which 826michigan has expanded—thanks in part to the consistent and enthusiastic support of friends like you. To end this action-packed year, we could think of no better Supporter(s) of the Month to honor than all who pitched in a few extra gears just before the start of the holiday season to help us complete the Detroit Robot Factory.

Eighty-seven stupendous supporters donated a whopping $28,274 to our 826 Hours Challenge Campaign via Indiegogo between October 5 and November 10! Those dollars have nearly the double the impact as the Richard C. and Barbara C. Van Dusen Family Fund matched gifts dollar for dollar up to $25,000. Even before the 826 Hours were up, eighty-seven people generously gave what they could, according to their ability, and helped us secure a grand total of $53,274 to open 826michigan’s second permanent writing center for students across the region.

We have certainly done our best to make great use of those funds, friends. Each week since November 18, we have welcomed entire public school classrooms into our writing lab to encounter our cantankerous publisher Dr. Blotch for a Storytelling and Bookmaking Field Trip. As our talented young writers always do, each class has blown Dr. Blotch away by writing story endings more engrossing than the ones before, soothing Dr. Blotch’s cranky temperament and saving the day. In January 2017, we will offer free on-site writing workshops and free after-school tutoring.

These dollars also ensured that the Detroit Robot Factory—our new Eastern Market retail shop—was ready to open on December 3rd. The DRF is finally in full operation mode, friends—and you’re invited to visit (often!) to experience some unique special additions to the Detroit Robot Factory store. We’re talking hard copy books on demand—at the push of a button! Cyborgs! Authorship at age nine for thousands of students in Detroit! Thanks to your support, when students step into 1351 Winder in the Eastern Market, the boundaries between reality and science fiction will be further expanded.

Thank you to each and every one of our 87 Indiegogo donors for believing in 826michigan, and thank you so much more for investing in our students. We exist for them and nothing we do can be done without you! Happy 2016!