Programs for Nonprofits & Other Agencies

Bring the healing power of creative writing to your organization*

Write Around Portland has been serving the Portland-Vancouver Metro region across Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, and Clark counties since 1999. And we’ve seen growth, transformations, and change in everyone from 4th graders to senior citizens.

Writing can change lives, and we’d love to partner with you to bring creative writing to your agency.

*Nonprofits, prisons, treatment centers, hospitals, retirement communities, and more!

Programs for Nonprofits

Our healing program is designed to appeal to writers at every skill level, especially those who don’t identify as writers at all!

Why Writing?

Studies show that writing can have profound physical and mental health benefits, including:

• reducing healthcare visits
• lessening pain
• improving symptoms of asthma, HIV, breast and prostate cancer, depression, and PTSD, among others
• slowing cognitive decline
• increasing self-care behaviors
• developing self-confidence
• and much more!

“Before joining [the writing group], I was depressed and stayed home most of the time with no outlet or connection out in the real world and no outlet for my emotions, be they happiness or pain. Writing has changed my life in so many ways. I’ve learned to trust people and write feelings, to laugh and have fun. My facilitator and fellow writers gave me great encouragement. I was even afraid to ride the MAX before this, and now I ride the MAX alone and look forward to every day of my life. I want to write forever. Here no one puts me down for my mistakes and poor reading skills because of my dyslexia.”

Leah

Our Curriculum

Participant-Centered

In our program, we work to dismantle the distinction between “facilitator” and “participant” and avoid the traditional dynamics between “teacher” and “student.” When participants feel that it is their group instead of the facilitator’s, they have more of a personal investment in making sure that the session goes well and they are often much more engaged in all facets of the program.

Inductive Learning

Inductive learning encourages looking at writing as a process in which each step might yield exciting discoveries. It also means that everyone in the room might come up with their own definition of what makes an effective image, for example. This is the sort of intellectual, creative and respectful atmosphere that Write Around Portland strives to create, in which everyone is an expert and everyone is a writer.

Write Around Portland helped our residents break up the isolation and loneliness they’ve been contending with. The program is so organized and the communication is so thorough that it made for an absolutely wonderful experience that I can’t wait to offer it again!

Kellie, agency partner at REACH CDC