As the first moments of 2010 grow steadily closer, 826LA is winding down this year with a bunch of great activities. And simultaneously, we're gearing up for next year! On our plate for '10: fresh field trips, creative new in-school project and on-site workshop ideas, and more, more, more after-school tutoring. It's going to make for some amazing products. (As you may know, we're running a project-based model at 826LA, which means that when students leave our activities, they've got something in the form of a product that may be as traditional as a magazine or as intangible as a pop song, as serious as a manifesto or as whimsical as comic.

We think it drives the point of our activity home.) We're always looking for new volunteers, and we're most excited by people who see our students as an opportunity for regular, high-impact volunteerism. If you haven't already, you should write to iwanttohelp@826la.org. Spending a few hours with kids like ours even one day every week will show those kids that adult role models are genuinely interested in their emergent voices, and help them get excited about storytelling. After all, what's a story without someone to tell it to?

In an effort to, well, commune with the most powerful storytelling icons of our day, Bonnie Chau and I attended an L.A. Live showing of The Twilight Saga: New Moon on November 22. Little did we know that this New Moon stuff involves so much: cavernous chills, epic tenderness, breathtaking heartbreak! Wow! It's easy to see why 826LA kids are so into those books; monsters with dark souls are a compelling enough to overcome kids' natural apprehension about chapter books, right? Everyone can agree on the value of that reading, whether they're on Team Jacob or Team Edward.

Crazy stuff to talk with students about! Plus, the most incredible news of all: Bonnie and I saw Jay-Z coming out of L.A. Live as we were coming out of the screening of New Moon. Can you believe the ceaseless wonders? As we go back to work in 826LA writing labs and prepare for a Thanksgiving (maybe a Twilight-themed one, in my house anyway, with a court of vampire elders and stuff) we're excitedly expecting new faces to 826LA through the months ahead. We're plenty thankful.