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Ánimo Venice Students Discover the Power of Words with the Release of “Each Little Leaf”

This year’s annual Young Authors’ Book Project returned to the west side to the classroom of Sarah Gacina at Ánimo Venice Charter High School. We posed the question to 65 students, what is the inescapable impact of a single moment? After deep self reflection and months of hard work, “Each Little Leaf” was born.

The students of Ánimo Venice have created a range of stories and reflections wider than we had ever hoped. This year’s theme begged for a personal connection; it inspired honesty, creativity, and discovery. Each student allowed us into their private thoughts and personal moments through beautiful storytelling and honest reflection; for that 826LA is grateful.

This Tuesday, the beautiful space at Venice Arts radiated with light and excitement as students came in and saw their published work laid out before them. With the tremendous help from the rockstars at ITAL/C, “Each Little Leaf” became a gorgeous book collecting the creativity and stories of our students. As the first students began to trickle in for the evening, many of them being our readers for the night and having a big part to play, their excitement was felt by all of 826LA staff.

The evening began with the words of Dolores Huerta, read by her daughter Juanita Chavez. Dolores Huerta is a tremendous figure in the farm workers rights movement and an inspiring activist. Juanita Chavez has carved a career for herself just as inspiring, and we are very honored to have both of them stand as role models for our young students, showing them that their voices matter and can make a difference. The readers then shared their stories will all of those who attended the event: parents, siblings, loved ones, and our amazing volunteers. They read about true loss, the discovery of the power of words, and the importance of deep connections.

Overall, “Each Little Leaf” is a huge success, one that could not have been accomplished without 826LA volunteers, the design team at ITAL/C, educators, and of course the students.

Join us as we share with you some photos from this incredible evening:

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Interested in getting involved with 826LA’s Young Authors’ Book Project in 2017? Become a volunteer!

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