We have only $12,919 left to raise to reach our $160,000 goal for Writers in the Schools!

Every gift will be matched dollar for dollar up to $40,000, thank to our generous anonymous Challenge Fund donor. Double your impact and make a gift today!

WITS matches talented poets, prose writers, and comic artists with local public schools and Seattle Children’s Hospital for year-long residencies, creatively engaging thousands of K-12 students every year.

WITS Writers-in-Residence cultivate spaces where students feel encouraged to embrace their creativity and feel supported in processing their hopes, griefs, and joys through reading and writing.

Even in these pandemic and recovery years, Seattle’s cost of living has continued to rise (and has risen almost 20% in the past decade!). For WITS to succeed, and WITS writers to spark inspiration and share their talents with young writers, WITS writers need to be able to live in our community.

This year, SAL has committed to raising WITS writer fees by 15% so that writers can not only live and work in this city, but they can tend to their own creative practices and thrive as artists. We believe that teaching artists, including WITS writers, are the culture bearers who inspire young people to cultivate the next generations of readers, writers, and dreamers.

Thank you for making a gift today so we can continue this important work! Scroll down to find out more ways you can participate in this year’s fundraiser.

Donate Now Attend our in-person celebration

Here are several ways you can participate in this year’s fundraiser:

Donate anytime throughout September

During September, we’ll send weekly emails highlighting different aspects of WITS with an invitation to contribute. We’ll share WITS voices from the classroom and beyond, including WITS writers, student poets, classroom teachers, WITS staff and interns, and more!

WAYS TO DONATE

Online

Send a check to 340 15th Ave E, Ste 301, Seattle WA 98112

Call Mickee Cheung at (206) 621-2230 x25

READ

Cultivating spaces of creativity and joy for WITS Students
A letter from WITS Writer-in-Residence Amy Hirayama

Attend our in-person celebration on September 30

On Friday, September 30 at 5:00 p.m., join us in celebration of Writers in the Schools and toast to all we’ll make possible as a community! The evening will feature a cocktail reception, a creative writing lesson led by WITS Writer-in-Residence Brian Dang; a literary reading with 2022/23 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Sah Pham and members of the WITS Writer-in-Residence cohort; and more!

Tickets can now be purchased on a sliding scale of $20-$50. Availability is limited.

Buy Tickets

DATE & LOCATION
Friday, September 30, 2022, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
The Olympic Rooftop Pavilion at Stoneburner
5214 Ballard Ave NW

The Olympic Rooftop Pavilion is located within Hotel Ballard. Enter through Hotel Ballard’s entrance at 5214 Ballard Ave NW—to the left of Stoneburner when facing the restaurant—and take the elevator to the fifth floor.

PARKING
Parking is available at Hotel Ballard’s on-site underground parking garage for $20. For your convenience, please arrive at the loading zone located in front of the hotel’s main entrance to collect a parking pass and instructions on how to enter the garage.

Become a WITS Champion & rally your friends to support WITS!

To make this fundraiser successful, we need our community’s help! Help us spread the word and rally support by becoming a WITS Champion.

Learn More

Contact Events & Annual Giving Manager Woogee Bae at [email protected] or (206) 621-2230 x23 to get involved.

Share our fundraiser on social media! #WITS2022

Let all your friends know about the 2022 WITS Back-To-School Fundraiser and share all the ways they can show their support.

Download our graphics, customize our sample caption, and post away!

Spread the Word

Sponsor the 2022 Back-to-School Fundraiser

As a 2022 Back-to-School Fundraiser sponsor, your company will enjoy visibility with SAL’s nearly 30,000 patrons around the greater Seattle area and beyond. A sponsorship is a unique opportunity to show your support for the literary arts and youth literacy in one of the top literary and most well-read cities in the country, according to multiple national rankings.

For more information about sponsorships, contact Events & Annual Giving Manager Woogee Bae at [email protected] or (206) 621-2230 x23.

With heartfelt thanks to…

Our 2022 WITS Champions

Virginia Anderson | Candace Barron | Sarah Burns
Melanie Curtice | Debra D. Dahlen | Piper Daugharty
Jim Duncan | Daphne Ming Durham | Kathleen Flenniken
Laura Gamache | Kip Greenthal | Susan Long-Walsh
Kelli Martin | Arlene Naganawa | Eric Gerard Parsons
Meg Richman | Rebecca Staffel | Sheehan Sullivan
Nancy Tollefson | Leigh Toner | Lisa Howe Verhovek
Nicole Y. Walters | Jennifer Leatherman Wong
Julie Zunker