YpsiWrites held its 5 year anniversary event over the weekend, inviting the Ypsi community, their writers, and more to celebrate the occasion at the Ypsilanti District Library.
They held the event in one of the conference rooms of the library, and in it you could find snacks, tables of different programming, and people socializing before the start at 1:30 p.m.
The team started off with a welcome speech from one of the co-founders of YpsiWrites, Ann Blakeslee. Blakeslee is also a Director of Campus & Community writing and a professor at EMU in the Department of English.
She welcomed everyone and talked about the program, its origins, and the amount of support they received over the years from the community.
The team, along with Blakeslee, also gave gifts to the writers who joined the program, and contributors who’ve collaborated and supported the program over its 5 years history.
Before the start of the event, Blakeslee discussed the program and its impact on the community.
“In 2019, after thinking about this for a couple of years, we knew of other places that had community writing centers. We decided to start one here in Ypsilanti,” Blakeslee said.
She and others believed that the community was perfect, and that Ypsilanti would support it. Surveys they sent out confirmed their initial beliefs.
She then talked about meeting with the leaders of the district library in search of a partnership.
“They became a collaborator with us, because we felt initially they would be a terrific partner and that this would be a good place for us to do writing support, for example," Blakeslee said.
YpsiWrites also collaborates with 826 Michigan, an organization that provides programming for youth.
Since 2019, the program has been able to launch many programs and resources, especially during the COVID pandemic. During that time, YpsiWrites pivoted and provided many workshops, opportunities for writers, and even a memoir series. It gave them the momentum to grow and create more opportunities for writers.
Throughout the event, collaborators and individuals who’ve supported YpsiWrites over the years were recognized and gift bags were given to the 2024 Writers of Ypsilanti.
The winners were Marc Arthur, Crystal S. Campbell, R.J. Fox, Monica Hickson, Bradley Kraft, Georgia Kreiger, Ruth Mella, Emma Rodseth, and Ameera Salman.
After the event, people went to the tables close to the back of the room to check out other programming.
Kristine Gatchel, the Programs and Partnerships Director and instructor at the EMU English department, discussed her role in the program.
Gatchel plans for the events of the year, is the point of contact for the different programs, and helps with the different workshops and programming.
“As Ann mentioned during the event, I’m kind of the right hand. I do whatever needs to be done in terms of planning. So, the calendar and planning out events for the year," Gatchel said.
She is also the point person for the Writers of Ypsi program and the Engaging Democracy program.
Gatchel shared about the organizations she’s worked with over the years.
“YpsiWrites is really lucky to have two additional collaborators in the Ypsilanti District Library and 826 Michigan, so there was that built-in partnership there from the very beginning,” she said.
She explained that both organizations provided great opportunities to partner with other organizations within the Ypsilanti community. One partnership they have is with the Washtenaw County Health Department. They dedicate their focus to how their program can assist the community through their various initiatives.
YpsiWrites’ birthday celebration event was a time of recognition and appreciation for the work that has been done, and more work to do in the future. They celebrated the writers and gave them time to perform their piece, which was given applause by everyone. They celebrated the collaborators and donors for their continued support.
YpsiWrites celebrates its birthday with an appreciation for the past and present, but are looking forward to the future and what it’ll bring to the Ypsi Community.
You can support and get to know them on their site at ypsiwrites.com.
