# 826 National

826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, improve their expository and creative writing skills. The organization's eight chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC in Brooklyn, 826LA in Los Angeles, 826CHI in Chicago, 826Michigan (serving Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Ypsilanti), 826 Boston in Boston, 826DC in Washington, DC, 826 New Orleans, and 826MSP.

## History

The flagship chapter of 826, 826 Valencia, opened in 2002, at 826 Valencia St. in the Mission District of San Francisco. The original address inspired the name 826 National. It was co-founded by educator Nínive Clements Calegari and author Dave Eggers, who also founded the independent publishing house McSweeney's.
In April 2010, Dave Eggers founded ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization that aims to make higher education possible for underserved youth. ScholarMatch posts profiles of students on their crowdfunding website in order to foster connections with donors and scholarship opportunities, interested in sponsoring that "scholar" in his/her pursuit of higher education. ScholarMatch also offers other resources in order to support the financial undertaking of pursuing a college education.
Following the success and impact of 826 Valencia in its first two years, 826NYC opened its doors in 2004. In 2005, 826Michigan, 826LA, and 826CHI were established, respectively. In 2007, 826 Boston joined the growing network, followed by 826DC, which opened in 2010.
In 2008, a national office was established to support the chapters and act as a central hub of the 826 network. 826 National is an independent nonprofit organization that provides strategic leadership, administration, and other resources to ensure the success of its writing and tutoring centers.
In addition, there are fifty 826-inspired organizations across the globe. 826 Digital supports educators through its new online pay-what- you-wish platform designed to help teach and ignite a love of writing.
826 National is the hub of the 826 Network: facilitating collaboration and alignment among our chapters, and bringing the 826 Network model and approach to new communities.

## Store themes

Each 826 National store has an unusually-themed retail outlet. These include:
| 826 Boston | Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute |
| 826 Chicago | The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Company |
| 826NYC | The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company |
| 826LA | The Time Travel Mart |
| 826 Valencia | The Pirate Supply Store & King Carl's Emporium |
| 826michigan | Liberty Street Robot Supply & Detroit Robot Factory |
| 826 New Orleans | New Orleans Haunting Supply Co. |
| 826DC | Tivoli's Astounding Magic Supply |
| 826MSP | Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute |
The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas, formerly called 826 Seattle, operates the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company.

## Volunteer network

826 National programs are supported by over 6,000 active volunteers of various professions, ages, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Volunteers are trained by staff members for various areas of 826 programs: After-school tutoring, the Young Authors Book Project, field trips, in-school programs, and writing workshops. Volunteers can also help in administrative jobs, such as website maintenance and graphic design.