People Finder
When art gives back
WRITING FOR ALL Kinkaid sophomore Anna Nguyen (pictured, with headmaster Mr. Jonathan Eades) sold her poetry chapbook, Woven Across the Ocean, at the 2025 Kinkaid Book Fair. Anna used the proceeds from the book sale to fund creative writing education for under-resourced students in Houston.
As a sophomore in the creative writing program at The Kinkaid School, I have learned how powerful storytelling can be for young writers. Although many may assume publishing is mainly for adults with a writing career, I have firsthand experience with how accessible it can be for teens, especially through self-publication. I have made it my mission to help other students write, be creative, and become published authors.
In December 2024, I went to Cần Thơ, Vietnam, and brought school supplies that people donated to the school where my great-aunt works. She sent us a video of how happy the children were, which motivated me to help low-resource students. This trip sparked something bigger: the beginning of The Caring Crayon Project (“CCP”), the nonprofit I founded with my sisters, Sophia and Lucy, and friends from Kinkaid, Anya Kamaldev and Preston Nguyen. The Caring Crayon Project is dedicated to helping kids feel seen, heard, write creatively, and get published. This fall, I wrote and published a poetry chapbook, Woven Across the Ocean, where I explore the complexities of my Vietnamese-American identity, family love, and cultural belonging. My book was sold at the Kinkaid Book Fair this year, where all the proceeds were donated towards the CCP.
The CCP continues to grow. We partner with the Writers in the Schools’ Creative Classroom Program (“WITS”) to fund creative writing courses at under-resourced schools in Houston using proceeds from our publications, along with donations. For every $3,000 raised, up to 50 students receive a year of writing education. This level of support from WITS will provide 20 instructional hours led by a professional WITS teaching artist, a student author visit, classroom publications, and writing journals. We also host summer creative writing workshops for students in English as a Second Language programs.
The CCP has made me a better writer by engaging me in other students’ writing and has allowed me to feel more compassionate towards others.
Editor’s note: Learn more here.
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