Partner Kit
One-sheet
826 2023-2024 Marketing One Pager
History
826 New Orleans began in late 2010 as Big Class, a writing project by a class of 43 1st-graders at Lincoln Elementary School in Marrero, LA led by Doug Keller and Heather Muntzer. The project was inspired by both the 826 National model, as well as local organizations like Students at the Center and Neighborhood Story Project. Young writers envisioned their book, wrote multiple drafts of their stories, and sent their final drafts off to adult artists to be illustrated. The book was beautifully laid out and designed, then published and celebrated with a packed reading at the local library. The book, Big Class No. 1: The Animals, sold out its initial run at independent bookstores in New Orleans.
As word of the project spread throughout New Orleans, several teachers reached out to the burgeoning Big Class team about the need for similar work in their classrooms. Envisioning work that would privilege marginalized student voices and provide under-resourced youth opportunities to explore their creativity and improve their writing skills, myriad volunteers and supporters came together to support early Big Class projects.
In 2013, Big Class joined with Press Street, a community arts nonprofit, to open The Big Class Studio, a creative space offering writing programs after school to young people in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and began operating as a year-round organization with programming hosted both at The Big Class Studio and in schools and community spaces around the city.
In 2014, Big Class entered Chapter Development with 826 National, and in January 2015 became a 501c3 nonprofit. In 2018, Big Class officially became 826 New Orleans, joining a national movement for writing and creativity. On 8/26, we’ll open the doors to our Youth Writing Center in the 7th Ward, establishing a new space of possibility for young writers for years to come.
Strategic Plan
826 New Orleans’s strategic plan is designed to move youth voices towards the center of New Orleans’s civic dialogue, expand the reach of our programs, and articulate a student matriculation pathway through our programs. Ultimately, we aim to develop a youth-focused literary-arts ecosystem that actively involves parents, teachers, and other community members.
