Help incarcerated youth write better futures

Update, April 10, 2024: we're keeping the GoFundMe open for individual gifts - and we have BIG NEWS! The Hawkins Project is now officially our fiscal sponsor. We are thrilled to have such an amazing partner in this work! The Hawkins Project, founded by Dave Eggers and Amanda Uhle, creates and funds courageous literary, visual, public, and other creative works with a special emphasis on supporting youth writing centers around the world. Find out more about The Hawkins Project here

If you are interested in making a major gift, a recurring gift, or discussing tax options with us, please email us.

Update, January 2024: our $7500 was met (and tears of gratitude flowed!), so we're going for $10k now since our campaign runs through the end of the year! Another $2500 will be enable additional one-on-one work with students at the CJDC and time to develop plans for entry into other facilities. THANK YOU, everyone!

Free Verse is a language-based skill-building program developed for youth in the justice system by Bird Cox at Richmond Young Writers. Programs like this one that help develop self-understanding and affirm identity have been shown to make significant improvements in outcomes for kids who have experienced incarceration.

Through writing projects, creative expression, employment preparation, and college application groundwork, Free Verse engages students in the Chesterfield Juvenile Detention Center in an active process of defining who they are, what they want, and what steps are available to them to make progress toward their goals.

Your gift will: