Dave Eggers, who brought us the awe-inspiring organization, 826 National, was awarded a 2008 TED prize for his literacy building work. In this acceptance speech, he talks about what led to the conception of 826 Valencia, similar projects all over the world, and asks the community to join him in supporting public schooling.
When Dave Eggers began a drop in tutoring program for kids aged 8-18, he wanted to place it in the middle of the action. He wanted a lot of walk-by traffic and he wanted it to be in a place that kids wanted to go. The building he lined up was zoned commercial, so how could Eggers put a tutoring centre there? By creating a storefront first. Thus, the Pirate Suppy Store (at 826 Valencia St in San Francisco, California) was born. Read more...
