At the heart of Vancouver’s creative community, Jennifer MacLeod is helping kids find their voices—one story at a time. As the Co-Founder and Director of Community for the Writers’ Exchange, MacLeod leads an organization dedicated to empowering under-resourced children and youth through reading, writing, and creativity.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
The Writers’ Exchange is a creative community that helps under-resourced kids and youth build confidence and get excited about reading, writing, and their own potential! Every year, more than 350 kids take part in fun literacy projects and get one-on-one support from incredible volunteer mentors who help boost their skills and self-esteem. At the end of each school year, we publish their stories in professionally designed books and throw joyful book launch parties to celebrate their hard work. All of our programs are completely free for the kids, youth, and families we serve and are made possible thanks to our amazing volunteers and generous donors.
What problem does it aim to solve?
At Writers’ Exchange, we’re tackling the barriers that prevent under-resourced kids and youth from feeling confident in their reading, writing, and creativity. Our programs are designed to build self-efficacy—helping kids believe in their own abilities and see that their ideas matter. When kids feel capable and proud of what they can do, they grow up with the power to make their own choices, achieve anything and be happy.
When did you start/join it?
We started as a project of another charity in 2011 and became our own stand-alone charity in 2019
What was the situation/how has it changed?
When we first started, we were working with under-resourced kids in breaktime programs who were eager to learn but struggled with any activities involving reading and writing. They wanted to participate but didn’t have the support or confidence they needed to succeed. That’s what inspired us to start our charity.
Today, we run programs five days a week across six different sites—and the demand continues to grow as more communities ask us to bring our programs to their locations. Many of the kids and youth who join us initially dislike reading and writing because they feel they’re not good at it or are afraid to fail. Once we create a safe, encouraging space where they know they won’t be judged, everything changes. They begin to build confidence, take creative risks, and express themselves through writing. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the pride on their faces when they accomplish something they once thought was too hard.
What more needs to be done?
The more we invest in kids’ confidence and creativity, the stronger our whole community becomes. Our programs are always expanding, as the need and our partnerships continue to grow each year. Our goal is simple: to always be able to say, “Yes, there’s a spot for you here.” But we can’t do that without the generosity of our donors.
How can our readers help?
We absolutely love when people want to help! The best way to support Writers’ Exchange is to spread the word to your friends, family, and coworkers about the amazing kids and youth in our programs and the 220+ books they’ve published since 2012.
You can also donate (and yes, get that satisfying tax receipt. It’s a total win-win!). Every dollar goes directly toward supporting free literacy programs that help kids build confidence and discover the joy of writing.
Beyond that, we’re always excited to connect with new volunteers, community partners, foundations, and companies who want to make a difference. If you think literacy is important and love creativity, healthy snacks, and a good story or two, there’s a place for you here!
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
