Double Your Donation!
We have Great News! A generous donor will match every dollar donated on May 5. Please give now!
Our Story
There are times in our lives when we need to summon just the right words. But unlocking what's in our hearts and minds--and helping us to better connect or persuade or heal--may not come easy. That's why The Muse Writers Center exists. We are there for anyone to seize the chance to live life more fully, more meaningfully, and more successfully through the power of words. We truly believe that expressing yourself changes everything.
In the past three years, we provided artistic enrichment to more than 42,000 people through the literary arts and creative writing in more than 2,600 public events, classes, and outreach programs.
This year, we are raising funds for our extensive, free outreach program that transforms lives by integrating the innate benefits of creative writing with healing for self-discovery, connection, and empowerment. We created programs, which are doubling in size each year, for those dealing with severe illness, domestic trauma, loneliness, disability, homelessness, bereavement, and loss, as well as for youth in crisis, wounded veterans, and seniors living in memory care.
Youth Program
Through Creative 
Writing Classes, mentorship, professional development programs and community events, we welcome young writers to explore their unique voices, improve their craft, and pursue professional opportunities in the literary world. Our creative writing classes are free to all, ensuring finances are never a barrier. Our Youth Outreach empowers at-risk youth by partnering with underserved schools, halfway houses, military bases, and libraries. The Teen Writers Fellowship, a program in which eight high school students from Hampton Roads work with published mentors and teachers to learn the professional aspects of the publishing industry, instills young writers with knowledge, creative confidence, and pro-social skills that are often lacking in literary education. 3-year impact: more than 4,000 young people served.
Military Outreach
Hampton Roads is unique in the nation as we are the home to both the world's largest military bases and one of the largest populations of veterans. The Muse collaborates with local military bases, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Armed Services Arts Project to create writing programs that actively engage members of the military community and their families. Creative writing allow military members and veterans to release and express their emotions in ways that often feel more natural than words alone. This helps the individual better connect or re-connect with themselves, their family, and their community. 3-year impact: more than 1,300 persons in the military community served.
Words for Wellness Program
The mission of Words for Wellness is to transform lives. We believe that the expression of authentic writing is a positive force for health, wellness, healing, and peace, in individuals, and in our world at large, including those living with challenges such as domestic trauma, loneliness, disability, homelessness, illness, bereavement, and loss. We partner with organizations such as the Brock Cancer Center, the YWCA emergency shelters, Tidewater Youth Services, Urban Renewal Center, and others to ensure we reach the communities that don't have access to us. 3-year impact: 1,300 persons served.
Senior Outreach
We send teachers and volunteers into senior facilities, hosting creative writing activities and classes to persons with all levels of cognitive abilities. Our programs help our students look within to discover their inner visions and playfulness, while taking pause to rest and reflect, contemplate, and in some cases experience the profound effect of new perspectives and healing. We work in assisted living facilities, memory care units, and rehab facilities throughout Hampton Roads. 3-year impact: 1,100 persons served.