Mighty Writers Helping Young Storytellers
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - In the summer of 2012, in tribute to Jackie Robinson and ballplayers in the Negro Leagues, the Anderson Monarchs - a Philadelphia baseball team of African-American kids 10 to 13 - embarked on a 19-day, 3500-mile journey playing against youth teams in Harlem, Chicago, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and other cities and raising awareness of blacks in baseball.
Mighty Writers armed the Monarch players with journals to record their impressions of the trip resulting in "We Are Jackie," a beautiful, quote-filled picture book of the Monarchs' odyssey.
That trip was historic but the daily work of volunteers at the three Mighty Writers locations in Philadelphia is helping kids, 7-17, think and write with clarity - after school, evenings and in the summer - developing skills to stay in school, achieve at work and in life.
Maya Angelo's quote on the website, MightyWriters.org, says it all, "There is no greater agony than having an untold story inside you."