Creative Writing in the Community is a program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. We use poetry and storytelling as tools to spark imagination, enhance literacy, develop learning attitude, and increase self-confidence, character, and self-awareness in children, youth, and adults in our communities.
We recruit, train, and support writers who serve as teaching artists to children, youth, and adults who may not have the resources to attend costly creative writing classes.
Some of our volunteer teaching artists are UCF students while others are professional writers who live in Central Florida.
In some creative writing classes at UCF students serves as mentors/tutors to others in the community, students examine and analyze the purpose of creative writing, the purpose being a creative writer, the value of Community-based Learning (CBL) in the literary arts, and the impact of cultural/social issues on individual and community creativity.
The project functions under the umbrella of The Literary Arts Partnership at UCF. We have an online photo album of students engaged in the community through creative writing field work.
Growing up I was always inspired by storys read to us by authors or people who came to our class to read something by them or another student. I would welcome the chance to do the same.