Thanks to your past support, this year our teen writers had a positive impact on thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of their peers. In their stories, the writers showed their peers how to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. 

Our stories—published in our digital magazines and curricula—make teens feel less alone. In their stories, the writers model the social and emotional skills that support academic and life success. And the stories give teachers insight into their students’ lives and strengths, which helps them become more compassionate and effective educators. 

And, of course, when teens write for Youth Communication, they help themselves. They strengthen their writing and critical thinking skills—and the satisfaction they get from helping their peers often shapes their careers. 

For example, Sarvenaz Zelkha-Singh is a 1993 alumna of YC's writing program. She is now an educator with over 20 years of experience in NYC public schools. She uses YC’s social and emotional learning (SEL) curricula in her classroom.

“When I was 16, my YC editor asked me to write about my experiences and challenges as a young person. It was the first time I was able to see myself as an individual, as someone who had a voice. It made me feel valued and realize the power of my words. Having my story published by YC meant it would live on beyond me to help others. This experience transformed me and led me to be an English Language Arts teacher. 

“I want to help other young people have the kind of transformation I went through as a teen writer. Using YC’s curricula in my classroom makes that possible.”

“In using YC’s social and emotional learning (SEL) curricula with my middle school students, I have witnessed first-hand how YC stories and discussion prompts have propelled their writing forward. 

“YC’s curricula addresses the real issues our students are facing today in a way that is paced to foster personal and academic growth while taking into account group dynamics. 

As a high school student, Sarvenaz found her voice at Youth Communication. As a teacher, she participated in our professional development program, where she learned to use our stories and lessons with her students. 

Sarvenaz personifies the powerful impact effect of YC’s writing, publishing, and education programs: how the impact of the stories ripples outward from the writer to the teacher and then to the students in that teacher’s classroom. 

Your support helps at every step in the process: It helps strengthen the writing program and the youth voices that are at the center of our work. It helps us to build highly engaging lessons and curricula to accompany the stories. And it helps us provide high-quality professional development to teachers like Sarvenaz.