Since 2013, Young DFW Writers, Inc (YDFW) has been transforming the lives of young people through critical and creative writing programs. Modeled after Young Chicago Authors (YCA), the original founders of the Louder Than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival (also a 2011 documentary), YDFW is one of more than 14 cities across the country and Canada who use the YCA model to help educate and organize. Our programs include four years of curriculum, free writing workshops, and open mics for young poets and participation in our local Louder Than a Bomb festival.
YDFW began in 4 schools within the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and continues to grow, offering a safe space and platform for youth expression that celebrates the voice of teens from various backgrounds. YDFW's programs serve as an introduction within a literary community that works to challenge students to engage in civic duty and to be agents of change within their communities.
Our most immediate need is funding to support the 200+ secondary school students that this program supports through our Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) event. LTABl is an annual event hosting youth poets in Olympic-style poetry bouts. Students representing schools and community groups in the Dallas-Fort Worth area perform original solo and group poems in a tournament-style competition.
LTAB is a safe space dedicated to voices of young people, carrying on the rich tradition of storytelling and spoken word. The program upholds the central idea that in unison, young people's voices are louder than any act of violence or hate inflicted upon them. It is a critical and creative writing, publishing, and performance education platform that gives students the stage to be positive agents of change in their community.
With your contribution, our organization can continue to cultivate relationships with students and their communities. Funds will help pay for the venue to fit our growing program, meals for students throughout the festival, bag swag gifts for participants, and more!
Established on the corner of art and activism, it is our mission to transform the lives of young people by cultivating their voices through writing, publication, performance education, and civic engagement.
Organization name
Young DFW Writers
Causes
Education - K-12
Operating Budget
Less than $100,000
Counties Served
Dallas, Tarrant
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Address
1540 Keller Parkway, Suite 108