Sponsor love letter: Dear DISCO.
Dear D.I.S.C.O.,
We love how your name hardly keeps the secret of how much writing matters to life and community. You are a Desert Island Supply Company for those stranded in the middle of an ocean with nothing to do but create a livable world.
We love the mission and the realization of Woodlawn Writers Corps, a collective of nearly 700 elementary and middle school students at Oliver Elementary, Avondale Elementary, and Putnam Middle School who meet weekly throughout the school year for curriculum-aligned creative writing workshops. We love how innovative curriculum allows students and workshop leaders to explore how poetry and language intersect with history, science, math and the arts.
We love what Brian Connell has done since signing on to lead DISCO a year ago. And we love how he encourages the community to think of DISCO as a space for magic.
We love the poetry books that provide alternative histories of Birmingham through the poems of its youngest members and future leaders.
We love the after school Comics Club that gives kids a place to create in that limbo after-school space.
We love the annual EPIC Read-A-Thon, which might be the coolest way devised by speaking mammals to fundraise while sharing the written word.
We love how students, poets, educators, writers, and citizens come together to volunteer for the programs that enrich and empower young members and future leaders of the community. And we encourage fellow Birminghamians to volunteer.
And we are deeply grateful to you for providing a space and place in the city for countless readings, open mic, and literary community that brings us closer together in a space of shared respect for language and hope.
“We founded DISCO because we wanted to give kids in Birmingham more opportunities to write and be creative. We also wanted kids to meet and learn from the creative writers and thinkers in our city.”
Learn more about DISCO from this interview with co-founder, Liz Hughey.
Learn more about DISCO’s mission and growth from this interview with Executive Director, Brian Connell.
Executive Director Brian Connell
“Since DISCO started its flagship in-school program, the Woodlawn Writers Corps, in 2013, it has grown from 70 students to over 700 students this year. Our goal has consistently been to offer more opportunities for students to write and create and to connect students with artists and writers. We are working to expand the Woodlawn Writers Corps to the high school level so that students from our feeder schools can continue to build upon the skills they have already learned.
In addition, we are continuing to build the creative community of Birmingham by hosting events for adults—workshops, readings, and concerts. We want DISCO to be a regular venue for artistic events. Bringing these creative worlds of adults and students together, we recently launched our Patreon site (www.patreon.com/disco), which allows people to become members of the DISCO community and engage with our work with students.”