The Making of Spells: The Prequel

Once upon a time in Fall 2007, in what was once our nation’s capital and is now the sixth largest city in America (but has the fourth largest population of Polish residents—who knew? It’s amazing the kind of info you can find on Wikipedia)–but I digress.

Two autumns ago in Philadelphia, two young women named Sarah and Jill who’d been friends for years and who often found themselves of one mind, found themselves again of one mind about bringing Dave Eggers’ 826 tutoring and writing center to Philadelphia. I could list the reasons why, but frankly, it’s a no-brainer.

Sarah had just moved from Philly to NYC and she still felt very connected to her adopted hometown. (Believe me, this is how Philadelphians are.) Jill was a Philadelphia attorney who loved to write. So they did what two idealistic, purposeful young women will do in this situation: Reader, they started an idealist.org page.

They also organized some meetings and came up with a name for their budding nonprofit. Here’s an excerpt from an email dated November 1, 2007:

From: Sarah
To: Jill

“OK, time to name the center…You got any ideas? I was thinking “Philly Literacy And Youth.” Cute, no?”

And so it was. (Cute, that is. And, for a while, the name.) Along with PLAY, Sarah and Jill came up with the idea of a wizardry grocery shop because, as they knew, all 826-inspired centers needed a wonderfully wacky storefront to act as a pass-through from the world of reality to the tutoring center, an alternative universe bursting with imagination and unbridled self-expression.

That fall 2007, the ideas flowed but then Sarah’s fund-raising prowess earned her a full-time gig at 826 NYC (yay!) and she became very, very busy. As for Jill … well, dear Reader, have you ever planned a wedding? The brainstorming was put on hold ……

(TO BE CONTINUED)