User:Robbrowning/Wonder Writers

Wonder Writers (www.wonderwriters.com) is a not-for-profit organization based in Irvine, CA and created by teenage founder Govil Gupta which encourages K-12 students to write and donates to various charities. Wonder Writers accomplishes its mission by organizing free creative writing contests and workshops for students, and publishing books from which proceeds are donated to charity. Students submit essays and poetry online at www.wonderwriters.com, have it evaluated by professionals, get it published in books, and can win prizes including iPods and Gift Cards. As of April 2010, Wonder Writers has published 5 editions of its books, including entries from thousands of young writers from countries such as the United States, India, Australia, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom, helping raise over $8000 for charity. The organization has been deemed a great success and an important innovation, helping provide a voice to young writers internationally, and has also shown to have an impact on student's grades in English and Writing classes.

History and Founding

Wonder Writers was officially launched, beginning its first contest, on January 15, 2008. Govil Gupta, the Founder and President of Wonder Writers, was 14-years-old and a freshman at Northwood High School in the Irvine Unified School District at the time. Although the first contest began in 2008, Gupta actually conceived the idea in March of 2007 and had spent the summer and fall of 2007 developing and refining the concept as well as the website.

According to Gupta and the Wonder Writers website, he founded the organization because as a young student, he loved to write himself, but noticed there were few places where he could submit hit writing and be rewarded with prizes. He also wanted an outlet to share and publish his writing, a privilege which he claimed few young writers had. Gupta also stated that he wanted to help his local community and donate to charity, and through the combination of these objectives, Gupta said Wonder Writers was born.

Mission and Goal

Wonder Writers states that its official mission is "to promote the interest of writing for children of all ages," and that it "was created to encourage writing and to give a place for everyone to publish their work." Furthermore, the organization states that its goal is "to donate to charity" which it makes possible by selling its semi-annual publications. <ref>http://www.wonderwriters.com/about<ref>

Program Process and Structure

As of April 2010, Wonder Writers has held five creative writing contests and countless creative writing workshops. Each creative writing contest has four categories, based upon the type of writing and the age level of the participants. The two age groups are Junior, for students in grades K-6, and Senior, for students in grades 7-12. In each group, there are two categories, Poetry and Essay, and young writers may submit their work to whichever category fits their work the best.

Wonder Writers program is often deemed very innovative, as it allows students from several nations to submit their writing online and collaborate together. After the contest is launched and promoted, students visit www.wonderwriters.com to submit their work, and fill out a form which asks for basic information and their actual work. The writing is then processed through Wonder Writers database, and the entries are distributed to the professional judges for evaluation, accompanied with a rubric. After the judges evaluate the entries, Gupta compiles the book and sends it in for publishing. An awards ceremony is held to honor the published and winning writers, and the newly published books are sold to raise money for charity. Book purchasing is also available later on through the website and mailbox.

Judges

Judges in the past have included Jim Hope, former writer and executive producer of the TV series George Lopez, Sean Presant, former writer and producer of ABC's Wipeout and "The Wayne Brady Show," Sindy Spackman, writer and coordinator for several Nickelodeon series including "Drake and Josh" and "Unfabulous," Daniel Hsia, writer for "Psych," as well as several professors at University of California, Irvine and administrators, teachers from the Irvine Unified School District, CEOS of local companies, journalists from local newspapers such as The Orange County Register, Irvine World News, and OC Post, and local officials from Orange County including firefighters and police officers.

Funding

Wonder Writers is a self-sufficient organization, and as a not-for-profit organization, donates 100% of proceeds to other organizations. The program is funded primarily through advertisements on the back cover and inside the book, as well as on the website, www.wonderwriters.com. Wonder Writers also receives some funding through generous donations and contributions from families and others who support the program.

Community Partners

Wonder Writers has worked significantly with local and international community partners including the Team Kids organization [1] and Volunteer Center Orange County. It also regularly works with local school districts, especially Irvine Unified School District, and many cities and volunteer programs and organizations.

Contests

Wonder Writers has launched and organized 5 contests to date, each of which has published its own book, and according to Gupta, plans to conduct many more in the future.

Contest 1: Bravery, Growing Up, and Choices

The contest began on January 15, 2008, and marked the beginning of Wonder Writers as an organization as well. The organization was structured slightly differently at the time, with 3 age levels instead of 2, as presently. The theme for the elementary school level was Bravery, for junior high level was Growing Up, and for high school level was Choices. The contest was publicized in local newspapers such as the Irvine World News and the Orange County Register, and was heavily spread through word of mouth and presentations. The awards ceremony was held at Heritage Park Regional Library in Irvine, CA, with standing room only, with guest speakers including Michael Dunn, a real estate agent and real estate writer/blogger, as well as the Director of the local Boys and Girls clubs.

Contest 2: My Plan to Save My Planet

The contest launched on Earth Day 2008, and rightly so as the theme was My Plan to Save My Planet, following the completion of the first contest. Wonder Writers partnered with a local organization, Team Kids, to help promote and gain publicity for the contest. The book was featured on several platforms and heavily encouraged, as it was an anthology of young people's ideas on how to save our environment and a common theme was Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse. The awards ceremony was held at Stonefire Grill, in Irvine, CA, which was a sponsor for the contest as well, and guest speakers included Julie Hudash, Founder and CEO of Team Kids organization.

Contest 3: Humor and I'm Thankful For

This contest marked the beginning of Wonder Writers' second year. It was one of the most successful contests for Wonder Writers as for the first time, there were entries from international countries including India, Indonesia, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Also, more and more states in the United States and cities in California were represented. At this contest, Jim Hope, one of the judges from Nickelodeon, gave a remarkable speech as the guest speaker, about his experiences as a writer and comedian. The awards ceremony was held at Heritage Park Regional Library on February 22, 2009, and raised a significant amount of money.

Contest 4: The Power of Youth

This contest marked a huge milestone in Wonder Writers' history, and there were a record number of entries submitted internationally, and this was due to the large scale publicity with help from Team Kids organization and the Irvine Unified School District, as well as social networking websites Facebook and Twitter. Entries poured in from several states including Minnesota, Oklahoma, and New York, as well as internationally again. The awards ceremony was also a huge success, and guest speakers included Dr. Gwen Gross, Superintendent of Irvine Unified School District. At this ceremony, Wonder Writers also passed the milestone of raising over $8000.

Contest 5: Most Influential People

This is Wonder Writers most recent contest is in the concluding stages as of April 2010. It also marks the beginning of Wonder Writers third year. Wonder Writers partnered with several organizations for this contest, including Team Kids and Volunteer Center Orange County in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2010. The awards ceremony will be held on April 18, 2010.

Workshops

Wonder Writers also recently launched "Wonder Writers Workshops" program [2] and the program organizes local, national, and international workshops. There have been countless local and national workshops conducted, and an international workshop was conducted in New Delhi, India over the summer of 2009. There plans to be another international workshop during the Summer of 2010.

The workshops have benefited hundreds, if not thousands, of young writers who, according to Gupta, previously had never been introduced to creative writing. The workshops aim to let students explore the creativity and wonders of the writing world, as well as teach fundamentals of grammar and creative writing in general.

Charity

Along with promoting writing, a major aspect of Wonder Writers is donating to charity, and it has raised over $8000 for local and international charities. Wonder Writers has donated to Childrens Hospital Orange County, International Eye Foundation, Yele Haiti for Haiti Earthquake, ALS Association, and the Dylan Bradshaw Memorial Fund, among others.

Awards, Recognition, and Media Coverage

Both Govil Gupta and Wonder Writers have been commended for their work and impact on the lives of youth everywhere. They include:

Nestle Very Best in Youth Award 2009 Award Information
1. Gupta was elected President of the Nestle Very Best in Youth Foundation, 2010
Bentley University Tomorrow25 Award Award Information
Project Tomorrow "Innovation in Education" 2009 Award Information
1. Gupta was named the "Emerging Student Innovator"
ABC 7 "Cool Kid" Award Link to Video
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Award Information
1. Distinguished Finalist

Also, Wonder Writers has been featured in several newspapers and other media outlets:

The Orange County Register Article
1. Same story also printed in Irvine World News
ABC 7 Los Angeles Link to Video
India Journal Article
IUSD Today Article