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Women writers mentor teenage girls for college places

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Summary of story from the Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2011

A nonprofit organization which pairs professional women writers in Los Angeles with at-risk teenage girls is celebrating its 10th year.

WriteGirl, founded by Keren Taylor who is now its executive director, has 150 women volunteers who now mentor 300 teenagers from 60 high schools throughout Los Angeles.

WriteGirl participants are 13 to 18 years old and come primarily from low-income neighborhoods.

The idea is that WriteGirl mentors help prepare the young women for college.

The ability to write well opens doors, Keren Taylor said, which is why she focused her organisation on that craft.

“To give young people confidence in that skill set is huge,” she said. “And writing is not only an academic and professional skill, it’s also a window into the way we understand ourselves as individuals and express who we are to the world.”

She attributes her own confidence to her mother, Anne Derewianko, a retired real estate agent. Education was her soapbox.

“Whenever I confront a challenge, I have a voice in my head that says: You can do this. That voice was put there by my mother,” Ms Taylor said. “But I was lucky, that’s for sure.”

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