The Quarter Century Club

Commemorating a celebration 25 years in the making

Our History

Twenty five years ago, Thea Temple and Jack Myers started The Writer's Garret from the back of a small bookstore in East Dallas. Since then, The Garret has had quite a story.

In 2005, The Garret was at its most successful, up to that point, with the popular Writers Studio airing on KERA, the Community And Mentorship Project on its feet, and a robust presence in schools and working with young people.

The Great Recession of 2008 had a significant impact on the organization and, coupled with the untimely death of co-founder Jack Myers, by 2011 The Garret was a fraction of its former self. Still, Executive Director Thea Temple fought and succeeded in keeping the doors open and the lights on.

By 2017, The Writer's Garret was ready for a change. Co-Executive Directors Michael Clay and Aaron Glover brought new energy to the leadership of the organization, with a renewed commitment to support the community and address questions of equity in a meaningful way. Since then, The Garret has expanded programming in an effort to reach further into the literary community it helped to build, receiving the Dallas City of Learning Community Engagement Award for the Arts in 2018.

Today, the future of the organization looks bright. Engagement with community-centric programs like Rail Writers and the Common Language Project grows yearly. While the coronavirus pandemic disrupted normal operations, The Garret has successfully moved programming online and is responding with new and creative initiatives. Guided by the same fundamental mission since its founding 25 years earlier, The Writer's Garret continues to connect people through the power of language.

 

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Our Future

The future of The Garret holds incredible promise, but like any nonprofit, we depend on the generosity and support of individuals, foundations and organizations to continue operating. Each year, we regularly secure programatic funding through grants and other funding sources; each year, even as our programs evolve in size, scope and reach, the challenge of funding administrative operations remains. The Quarter Century Club was created to meet that challenge.

The Quarter Century Club

Quarter Century Club members commit to making a monthly contribution in the amount of $25 or more to The Writer's Garret. The club offers different levels of membership for different amounts of giving. These funds support operating expenses and administrative salaries. They help relieve the pressure placed on The Garret's budget by grants and funding sources that dictate the specific application of dollars towards programs. Most importantly, the Quarter Century Club builds a foundation for the future of The Garret, setting us up for a second quarter century of success.

The Bookcase & More

The names of members of the club will be inscribed on the spines of commemorative books–the author's of The Garret's story, so to speak–which will be placed in the Quarter Century bookcase located in The Garret's home office. Members will be invited to attend a dedication day to sign and inscribe the front cover with a message of their choice.

As our most valued supporters, Quarter Century Club members will receive special offers on ticketed programs, priority access and placement at events, and an invitation to an exclusive "Members Only" party, to be held in May of 2021.

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Join The Club

It's easy to become a member of the Quarter Century Club. Simply choose your monthly donation level in the panel to the right!

 

Thanks to our sponsors

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