Our Story

 
 
 
YpsiWrites logo surrounded by the four pillars icon.

In October 2019, Eastern Michigan University Office of Campus and Community Writing, Ypsilanti District Library, and 826 Michigan came together to found YpsiWrites, a writing-focused non-profit serving the Ypsilanti area. We believe that everyone is a writer and writing matters. Motivated by this core belief, YpsiWrites promotes and supports writers of all ages and skill levels in our community.

In its inaugural year, YpsiWrites was heavily focused on building support and community for writers in the area through in-person workshops and one-on-one writing consultations. The work has grown virtually and in-person to include writing workshops that span across styles and genres, larger-scale partner programming and events, expanded volunteer teams of people who create valuable writing resources for the community, and approachable and easily accessible writing consultation offerings to help as many writers as possible sharpen their skills. 

YpsiWrites is built of people who are passionate writers and community writers who believe writing is better together.

 

Our Pillars

The Community icon, a yellow symbol of a person surrounded by a black line that creates a circle and connects four smaller, colored circles at each compass point.
 

Community

We build relationships between writers.

The Advocacy icon, a white megaphone with a yellow handle and a pink band near the mic end.
 

Advocacy

We encourage writers at all levels to believe in themselves and use writing as a tool to make a difference.

The Inclusivity icon, a three-circle venn diagram with colored overlapping portions: one yellow, one green, one pink, and the middle a darker green.
 

Inclusivity

We create welcoming spaces for all writers to express themselves and their work.

The Support icon, a stylized Roman pillar column with yellow and green on the top and bottom.
 

Support

We provide resources, guidance, and feedback on all writing projects.

 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

YpsiWrites believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical to achieving its mission of making all people in the community, regardless of age or ability, feel welcomed, empowered, and supported at every stage of their writing journey. YpsiWrites also believes writing has the power to create change and promote equity. We value the languages, intersecting identities, and lived experiences of all writers and believe a multiplicity of voices enriches the community. We believe it is our responsibility to cultivate a welcoming and inviting space where we support and respond to all writers’ needs and actively engage in inclusive practices. We value and strive to work always towards a more equitable and accessible experience for all writers.