YouthInkwell News

August 4th:

YouthInkwell Writing Center Fall 2008 Classes Now Available!

March 24th:

YouthInkwell Writing Center Summer 2008 Classes Now Available!

Joy 15th:

Check out photos of our recent trip to Pasadena Water and Power's Water Quality Testing Laboratory>

July 12th:

Congratulations to YouthInkwell student Sarah Chen! Not only did Sarah win the national championship for Girl's Speed Skating, but now she is both state and national champion of Girl's Cycling! Way to go, Sarah! We are so proud of you!

Visit Sarah's page>

April 9th:

Contest Winners have been announced!

Did you know who won the "Year Without A Winter" Writing Contest? Check it out at the Contests Page.

April 1st - 8th:

YouthInkwell is on Spring Break! Enjoy your holiday!

Come stop by if you need a quiet place to work on your writing, want to help out, or want to find out how to do more with YouthInkwell!

See you soon!

February 17th:

Sign up now for Summer Classes!

Space is LIMITED!!

Check HERE for enrollment status.

(Availability status is updated weekly).

February 10th:

Writing Contest Winners to be Announced!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our recent "A Year Without A Winter" Writing Contest! The selection process will proceed for the next two weeks. Winners will be informed directly as well as announced online!

Check back soon for the results!

Thru February 9th:

YouthInkwell Writing Studio's
Winter 2007 Writing Contest!!

Two first place winners will receive a $1000 scholarship, and two runner-up recipients will receive a $500 scholarship towards YouthInkwell's Writing Studio.

Deadline has been extended to February 9th!!

Click here to learn more!

November 7^th, 2006:

Today is Election Day! 

A lot of huge issues are included on this Midterm Election ballot.  Proposition 87 states that upon its initiation, the prop “establishes $4 billion program with goal to reduce petroleum consumption by 25%, with research and production incentives for alternative energy, alternative energy vehicles, energy efficient technologies, and for education and training."  Visit the California Secretary of State’s website to learn more.

November 1^st, 2006:

Halloween Story Contest Winners Have Been Announced! 

Check it out on the Contests page.  Thanks to everybody that participated!  We received over 100 entries from our local Pasadena Unified School District, and loved every story!  Keep them coming for the next contest!  The winners were first announced at YouthInkwell’s Halloween Fundraiser held at the luxurious Sisters of Bubik, A Theatrical Boutique Café located in Old Town Pasadena.  Also, the winner of last night’s Costume Contest was Tabitha Bowles from San Gabriel as a red devil. Thanks for the ghoulish glamour and goodwill!

October 16^th, 2006:

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BRAVE PENCIL?

YouthInkwell’s Halloween Story Contest winners will be announced and have their stories read at the YouthInkwell Halloween Fundraiser, which includes the Writing Studio’s production of “Evil Chairs and Murky Waters (And How the Brave Pencil Beat them All).”

Kids are discovering new evil villains besides the boogieman under the bed.  But this time, they have the power to battle these evildoers of global proportions with the mere power of the pen.

This Halloween, YouthInkwell’s Story Writing Contest gives young writers and aspiring young writers the chance to create their own unique scary story for the holiday.  The only catch is the story must describe something frightening about the environment. 

Currently in the YouthInkwell classroom, students have developed fantastic stories about superheroes who battle the evils of global warming, as well as stories that include super villains who try to obliterate the planet through hazardous waste.  The idea is to get children involved in their communities and become aware of social issues that affect them and their future.  The story writing contest is a chance for children to realize the power of writing and the changes that they are capable of producing.  Instead of the typical hyped-up Halloween fiend concealed by a shadowy mask, children are introduced to a newer, more imaginative, and more realistic battle that they are able to take on themselves.

The children at YouthInkwell are already familiar of the changes writing can make in their world.  Recently, the rivets located on the backs of their chairs exacerbated the students.    The girls began complaining about their hair getting snagged in the rivets.  YouthInkwell’s director, Jennifer Sarja, suggested that they should do something about it instead of simply stating the obvious.  Her motto to the kids is that if you find yourself unpleased about something, do something about it by writing how you feel.  The students each wrote a personalized letter to the director of Virco Mfg. Corporation about their situation, and weeks later not only did YouthInkwell receive a very pleasing response from Virco, but they also received twenty-five brand new rivet-less chairs delivered to the classroom for free.

The chair episode led to the inspiration of one of YouthInkwell’s villains in the play “Evil Chairs and Murky Waters (And How The Brave Pencil Beat them All)” written and featuring YouthInkwell’s writers.  Besides battling evil chairs, the YouthInkwell students have tackled bigger issues such as the emission of deadly toxins into the air by writing to both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach.  The letters to both ports describing their concerns about the air quality in their communities led to personal invitations of exclusive tours of the ports by the Port of Long Beach’s Assistant Director Art Wong as well as the Port of Los Angeles’ Executive Director Geraldine Knatz.  

The two most impressive stories will win $1000 scholarships toward any class at YouthInkwell Writing Studio and will have their stories read by the Fundraiser’s M.C. Extraordinaire Mark J. Levy during the evening’s performance.  The Halloween Fundraiser, beginning at 6:30pm on October 31^st, is designed to give kids something to look forward to besides sweets and spooks.  They may have the chance to make a difference. YouthInkwell student Reggie Sampson, who is starring as the Halloween play’s Brave Pencil, had once commented to a room filled with Pasadena’s businesspeople during a meeting at the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, “I may look small, but I’m saving the world.  What are your kids doing?”

To learn more about the story contest and how to enter, check out the Contests page.

--LeAnne Bagnall

August 17, 2006:

YouthInkwell Students Hit the Ports!

Art Wong, Assistant Director of Communications at the Port of Long Beach, has invited seven sYouthInkwell students to a tour of the Long Beach Port on Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. They will be meeting with environmental specialists and port representatives to discuss the changes being made to economize the emission of carbons and other toxic fumes that highly damage the port’s atmosphere and surrounding locations, as well as the installment of the San Pedro Clean Air Action Plan.  They recently were congratulated by Geraldine Knatz, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles for their efforts to heighten awareness.

Last month, YouthInkwell students personally wrote letters to both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach expressing their concerns about managing gas emission and emphasizing the usefulness of public transportation.  En route to their tour of the port, the students will be traveling via the Metro Gold Line and connecting to Metro Blue Line. Way to help out the environment, YouthInkwell!!