Mighty Writers to expand to Kennett Square

¡Enhorabuena!

Mighty Writers, the nonprofit that offers free reading and writing programs for children at centers in eight Philadelphia-area neighborhoods, is opening a location in Kennett Square (Chester County) next month.

The decision reflects the continued growth of the Latinx population in Southern Chester County. Kennett Square itself is 49% Latinx; two adjacent towns, Avondale and Toughkenamon, are 59% and 58% Latinx, respectively; a third, West Grove, is 35% Latinx.

 Tim Whitaker, the executive director of Mighty Writers, envisioned the programming for “the children of the Kennett Square mushroom-picking community,” who are mostly Mexican and Central American, according to the announcement.

“In the face of so much fear-mongering and anti-immigrant sentiment,” Whitaker said, “it’s especially critical that immigrant kids learn to think clearly and express themselves with clarity.”

The organization also announced on September 16 that Sara Dickens-Trillo will be the bilingual program manager at the new location. Dickens-Trillo is on the boards of Casa Guanajuato in Kennett Square and LCH (formerly, La Comunidad Hispana), which operates out of Kennett Square, Oxford and West Grove.

The Kennett Square site’s offerings will be entirely bilingual, and will start with Girl Power Poetry classes for young girls and Girl Power Futures classes for teens. There will also be monthly Bilingual Family Write Nights for families and children of all ages.

“This program is going to help our children in so many aspects of their lives,” Dickens-Trillo said in the organization’s release. “For example higher self-esteem, more positive attitude, opened-minded, as well as creating an advantage for their future.”

The organization has two Philadelphia sites — Mighty Writers Rivera (3201 North 5th St.) and Mighty Writers El Futuro (1025 South Ninth Street) — which also offer bilingual programming.