Telling Room author Mo Drammeh (Where the Cryptids Fled) is currently studying Ecology & Environmental Sciences at the University of Maine
Help Elevate Youth Voices
Any gift, no matter the size, makes a big difference to our mission, our vision, and the young writers we are so fortunate to work with every day. We simply couldn’t do this work without the support of our generous community. Thank you for all the ways you support The Telling Room.
““Not only were you supported by the staff as you went through the writing process, but you had a group of people that were going through the exact same thing.””
Telling Room author Mo Drammeh (Where the Cryptids Fled) reads in conversation with writer Chris Packard at the Bangor Public Library
““Anytime that I’m presenting, everyone is absolutely excited and happy to have me. They’re just happy to see someone from a younger generation get into reading…I feel that it really does help you get a connection with the more literary side of Maine.””
Dear Friends,
We are living in a time of rapid change, at an intersection of many questions. At The Telling Room, we are ever guided by youth and what they’re bringing to the page. How do we respond to our environmental crises? How is a racial reckoning lived in our care and practice for one another? How do we wholly affirm everyone’s gender identity and expression? How do we address the many challenges our communities are facing?
Yes: Youth write about all of these things, and more.
So, with our heads and hearts full of questions, we turn to writing, to art, to reading, and to each other. Even in the face of nationwide efforts to silence vital voices and perspectives, youth are speaking up. Every day I see young writers inspiring one another and learning from their fellow artists and mentors. Together, they are lifting up their voices. Together, they are making themselves heard.
And together is how we all move forward. With our newly launched three-year strategic plan, Reading Ahead, we’re strengthening how we elevate youth voices through our partnerships with alumni, schools, libraries, and other organizations. We will expand access to our programs, growing their visibility and long-term impact. We will holistically support our community, including our staff and youth, by centering belonging, justice, and our culture of learning in all that we do.
With our plans in place, we now turn to our wider community and ask, “What can we all bring to the page?” Because The Telling Room needs your help to realize our vision: a future where youth make themselves heard and their communities value their voices.
I invite you to join me and make a gift to support youth who, like Mo, are discovering the possibilities of the present and the opportunities of the future, through writing together with The Telling Room.
Kristina M. J. Powell,
Executive Director, she/her/hers
Mo Drammeh reads from Where the Cryptids Fled at SPACE in Portland
“There was life to live, things to do, places to see. Opportunity. It filled them with purpose, it pulled them from that nihilistic drifting void and put them into the real world, with the real people…Opportunity. What they’d chased for so long. Cassie led the way back to the car. It was time to change the world.”
— Mo Drammeh, Excerpt from Where the Cryptids Fled
How to Give
All donations will help us advance our mission to empower youth through writing and share their voices with the world. Thank you for your support.
You can make a secure online donation here.
Contributions may be sent to:
The Telling Room
225 Commercial Street, Suite 201
Portland, ME 04101
For other ways to give, please contact our Development Director Sarah Schneider at sarah@tellingroom.org.
The Telling Room is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tax ID # / EIN: 74-3136956
Become a Corporate Sponsor
Our new annual sponsorship structure gives local businesses and organizations the opportunity for increased visibility through our special events, audience channels, and publications throughout the year. All contributions go towards supporting our suite of innovative writing and publishing programs for youth.
Reading Ahead:
Our 2023 - 2027 Strategic Plan
Learn more about what The Telling Room’s goals are for the next three years and how you can get involved here in our latest strategic plan.
Thank you to our generous supporters for helping make it all possible.
Community Support
The Telling Room belongs to a vibrant community of youth-serving organizations and arts nonprofits. We encourage wide support of Maine’s many nonprofits that uplift youth and the arts so our whole community can be stronger together.