December 2009

Dear Friend of the Writers' Center:

In a year of unprecedented economic difficulty in which arts organizations have experienced a decline in grants and have had to cut programs, The Hudson Valley Writers' Center is weathering the storm, and our programs have continued to earn high praise. Our Friday evening Slapering Hol Press reading series received a "Best of" award from Westchester Magazine and our 2008 chapbook A Thirst that's Partly Mine by Liz Ahl received the Montserrat Review's Best Books for Spring 2009 award. Thanks to a generous grant from a HVWC Board member, we were also able to publish a beautiful, palm-sized collection of poems, Hudson River Haiku, written by Helen Barolini, which is enhanced by watercolors of the Hudson. Released to coincide with the Hudson River Quadricentennial Celebration, this book became an instant "best seller".

We thank you for your generous support of the Writers' Center in the past, and write now to ask for you to provide a gift to help assure that our financial year will be as positive as our programmatic year has been. HVWC's 2009 highlights include:

  • 560 students participated in 67 writing workshops and classes.
  • 205 poets submitted their work to the Slapering Hol Press Chapbook competition.
  • 110 accomplished poets, essayists, fiction writers and playwrights participated in 37 readings and events.
  • Two community-based creative writing workshop series were held, one with Latina, immigrant mothers in Tarrytown, and one with teen girls in White Plains.
  • Literary readings were offered throughout Westchester County- Ossining, Pelham, Peekskill, Port Chester, Purchase, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Yonkers, White Plains, Manhattan and Old Forge and we initiated a workshop and reading series collaboration with the Pelham Art Center.
  • A Master Class for poets was taught by the acclaimed poet Eamon Grennan.
  • At no cost to the Writers' Center, we have been able to lease new workshop space in Ichabod's Landing in Sleepy Hollow to provide a quiet workshop environment during platform reconstruction work at the Philipse Manor station.

We are looking forward to broadening the breadth of our workshop offerings in 2010 and continuing our Discovering New Audiences initiatives. We have plans to publish another chapbook in the popular Sleepy Hollow Chapbook Series and are expanding and diversifying our Board.

The current financial crisis continues to affect us. During this holiday season, please join us by making a financial contribution to support the literary arts. Support the only literary arts organization in Westchester County. Invest in our commitment to ensure that the literary arts are accessible to everyone.

With gratitude,


Paula Armbruster
Chair, Board of Directors
Donald W. Stever
Founding Member, Board of Directors
  

 

P.S. Simply print this letter and tear off the bottom portion, indicate your level of support, and mail your check or credit card information to The Hudson Valley Writers' Center, 300 Riverside Drive, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591. Or, you can donate by credit card through Network for Good by clicking on this button:

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The Hudson Valley Writers' Center is a not-for-profit, IRC section 501(c)(3) organization.
Contributions in excess of value received are deductible for Federal Income Tax purposes.

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