As the holiday season continues, at CBS News Texas, we are once again proud to honor those making a difference in our community. 

As part of CBS News Texas' third annual 11 Days of Giving campaign, supported by Tom Thumb Albertsons, $1,000 is awarded each day to a local nonprofit making a meaningful impact.

Today, we're introduced to the Teen Writers Project, a nonprofit in Mesquite that helps unlock the passions of teen writers.  

You can hear stories moving from brains to page inside one classroom at Horn High School in Mesquite.  

It's all the brainchild of Demetria Millener.  

"It's not just writing, it's their passion, it's a purpose, it's a protest on paper," said Millener. 

She's an English teacher at Horn High School, but she's also a writer, and she wanted to help keep the art of writing alive.  

"Writing is being erased," said Millener, "Today in schools, they have reduced writing to test prep, drill and kill."

So she founded the Teen Writers Project – a nonprofit that helps teens on a path to become professional writers.  

"When we publish their work, then they get paid as contributors, but then also our teen editorial board, they get paid monthly," said Millener, "What I try to do as a teacher and a founder of a writing organization, I try to make sure that teenagers, that art is not lost."

That's why the Teen Writers Project was selected to receive a $1,000 donation as a part of the 11 Days of Giving. That money will help Millener expand her program and inspire the next generation of writers.  

"That's my dream, to have a teen writers project in every high school in DFW," said Millener, "there's so much you can do with words. Words are powerful. And teenagers, not only do they need a voice, but they have a voice."