May 24 was a coming together of celebrations. The presenting event was an Open House for Mighty Writers El Futuro, an organization that serves families and youth in Southern Chester County. They were showcasing their new location, 121 Willow St., Toughkenamon, to the families they will be serving and the broader community.
Mighty Writers is a non-profit established in 2009 and has served vulnerable youth around Philadelphia, Camden and Atlantic City, New Jersey and now Kennett Square. The organization is set-up to fund after-school programs that include writing workshops, writing contests, food distribution for those in need, and one-to-one tutoring programs for students throughout school age.
Sara Trillo-Dickens, Bilingual Program Director, is happy to finally have a permanent and culturally decorated site to accomplish their mission. The doors will be open three hours after-school on Monday through Friday. The new location is settled in a walkable neighborhood, which makes it accessible to new youth
With a newly purchased van, thanks to the New Garden Township, Mighty Writers will also be able to provide students transportation to summer camps, field trips and special appointments.
During the pandemic, Sara started a food drive to address food insecurity. Mighty Writers El Futuro continues to host a weekly food drive at West Grove Methodist Church's parking lot to meet the need of over 400 families.
The coinciding event on May 24 was the celebration of the next phase of the Southern Chester County Digital Literacy program. Three employees of Mighty Writers have completed their fifteen sessions of Train the Trainer classes and now are ready to teach the parents of the students they serve.
The non-profit that is providing the training, RSVP's Executive Director, Michele Moll was in attendance, enjoying the actual setting where the parent classes will be taken. She had time to talk with other non-profit leaders, who are currently a part of the digital literacy project and to those interested in bringing the training to their employees.
The Train the Trainer classes started in the fall of 2021 and will be moving into its third cycle of classes this fall. Michele Moll points out that RSVP also teaches volunteers virtually, who in turn can help out with the upcoming in-person classes.
Steve Figgatt and Jim Maguire from Sycamore International, a company that refurbishes and recycles computers, attended the event. They generously donated computers for the upcoming Mighty Writer classes and had the opportunity to meet the trainers in-person. As the classes begin, Sycamore International will accommodate with the best style of computer that meets the needs of the families. Donated computers will be given to families, who become trained in cyber security, email, web search, apps and Zoom.
Sara Dickens Trillo helped launch the Mighty Writers/El Futuro Kennett program in 2019. From the start, she expressed the need for community partnerships to help fulfill her mission. She passionately recruits volunteers for both the food drive, the after-school programing and "Family Night." She says, "the more the merrier" and with the willingness to work with an open heart the vulnerable community is being served with love. To contact Sara email sdtrillo@mightywriters.org
"The Story of Kennett - Shaping the future one child at a time" Joan Holliday's & Bob George's book on Kennett may be purchased on Amazon and at the Mushroom Cap or Resale Book Shoppe in Kennett. You may contact Joan Holliday at: dochollisv@aol.com
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