SIPA Partners with Uptown Stories to Empower Young Writers in Washington Heights

A group of Columbia students has collaborated with Uptown Stories, a small nonprofit organization in Washington Heights, to inspire creativity and empower local youth through writing. Uptown Stories provides creative writing workshops for children aged eight to 18 on a pay-as-you-can model, making these opportunities accessible to all members of the community.

A Mission Rooted in Community Engagement

“Uptown Stories’ mission is to empower young people to write their own stories”" said Kayla Lichtman MPA ’26 and member of the Columbia Impact Investing Network. “Uptown Stories programs include after-school, weekend, and summer creative writing workshops, and they even publish anthologies of student work. It’s an incredible way to inspire young voices.”

This semester, Lichtman and five of her peers joined Uptown Stories to consult the organization’s growth and fundraising efforts. The partnership comes at a pivotal time for Uptown Stories, as they were recently selected to participate in New York State’s LEAPS Initiative (Learning and Enrichment After-School Program Supports), which will enable them to expand their programming to three local schools over the next five years.

The team includes Navya Sinha MPA ’26, Koreena Deen MPA ’25, Julia Kwak ’25CS, Ines Saintemarie ’25CS, Olivia Mason MPA ’25, and Kayla Lichtman MPA ’26. Together, they are leveraging their diverse skills in project management, marketing, and fundraising to help Uptown Stories broaden its audience and enhance its mission of empowering young writers.

Supporting Growth and Expansion

The student team has taken on three main tasks to assist Uptown Stories: supporting their holiday “Use Your Words” fundraising campaign, researching potential donors, and developing a pitch deck for future donor and stakeholder engagements.

“Because their pay-as-you-can model allows students to participate regardless of financial means, the organization depends heavily on community support,” Lichtman said. “Last year, 79 percent of their students used this model to pursue their artistic dreams. That’s why fundraising is so critical for their mission.”

The team is particularly excited about helping Uptown Stories amplify its reach within and beyond Washington Heights. “They’ve saturated their local market, and now they’re looking to attract new eyes to their programming,” Lichtman said.

The collaboration has been a meaningful experience for the students involved, who balance schoolwork with community-impact projects. “This has really been an exercise in collaboration,” Kayla noted. “We’ve been meeting weekly, splitting into smaller groups to tackle different aspects of the project, and working iteratively with the Uptown Stories team. It’s been rewarding to see how much value we can provide in just a couple of months.”

A standout moment of the partnership was the classroom visit, where the student group had the opportunity to witness Uptown Stories’ creative workshops in action. They were impressed by the inspiring atmosphere of the sessions and highlighted how programs like these are essential in fostering creativity and confidence among young writers.

How You Can Support Uptown Stories

In the spirit of the holidays, Uptown Stories is encouraging donations to support their work, particularly the LEAPS initiative. “This program is a huge milestone for them, and it’s something they’re immensely proud of,” Lichtman said.

The partnership with Uptown Stories also underscores the broader goal of fostering meaningful connections between Columbia University and the local community. Through their involvement, the students have not only gained hands-on experience in project management, fundraising, and community outreach but also had the chance to witness the tangible impact of their work. “It’s been a unique opportunity to apply what we’ve learned in the classroom to real-world challenges,” Lichtman said. “Supporting an organization as mission-driven as Uptown Stories has been both inspiring and fulfilling.”

To learn more about Uptown Stories or contribute to their mission, visit their website Uptown Stories.