The Foundation staff recently met with our partners at the Hindman Settlement School to catch up on where they are with the Ironwood Writers Studio which is funded by the James Baker Hall Foundation.

The workshop is for high school students from Knott County where Hindman sits. We believe that supporting this program is as important as writing…the arts in general…provides a ladder for kids to climb. We were absolutely thrilled to learn that every kid who has aged out of the program (graduated from high school) since our investment has moved on to college.

This is why we invest in young writers. Oftentimes, creating that ladder is difficult. And expensive. It takes strong partners like the Hindman Settlement School or Bloodroot Writers Collective to be on the ground providing mentorship and support when many of these kids have none.

Giving Tuesday will be on Tuesday, December 1 and it is your chance to help the Foundation raise funds to keep investing in Kentucky’s writers of the future. We will be asking all day because honestly, we need you. We’ve done a lot in our two years, but we know from our travels, there are young writers everywhere we go who need your support.

Mark it in your calendars as a day of investment…in the next generation of Kentucky writers. At the Foundation we know these words from James Baker Hall are true:

“Writing is no answer but when you feel deeply there is little else to do.”