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$8,500 Goal
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In June, Pongo will release The Story of My Heart, our 16th anthology of poetry featuring the writing of youth at the Child Study & Treatment Center (CSTC). Pongo needs $8,500 to release this volume. We’re asking you to join us in demonstrating that the lives, stories, and creative output of CSTC youth have value and artistic merit by bringing this book to life.
For over 20 years, Pongo has mentored poetry with children at CSTC, the only state-run psychiatric hospital for youth in Washington State. Many CSTC youth are coping with severe emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Pongo poetry writing offers youth a creative outlet for expressing previously repressed grief, facilitating healing, and igniting a passion for writing that endures long after their participation in our program.
The lives and perspectives of youth in institutionalized settings are too often relegated to the periphery, deemed unworthy or disposable. Publishing the poetry of our authors, and widely distributing their work are important remedies to this, and we’re asking you to join us in that effort.
Your contribution will pay for everything from a book designer, to printing costs, to promotional events to publicize the release. Furthermore, your support will pay for Pongo to donate free copies to the writers we serve, youth at peer organizations, and program providers as well. Ultimately, your contribution will help Pongo connect our youth authors with the wider community, raising awareness about their traumatic experiences, the conditions that give rise to it, and the refuge that poetry writing provides. Plus, if you contribute $100 or more to this campaign, you'll receive a complimentary copy of the book this June.
With your support, Pongo will release The Story of My Heart, shedding light on the pain, resilience, and boundless creative capacity of CSTC youth.
If you want to learn more about Pongo's work or how you can get involved, email developmentmanager@pongoteenwriting.org or click here to visit our website.