A successful Luncheon with Francis Ford Coppola and Thao Nguyen

Students perform an 826 Valencia-themed song with Thao

On Wednesday, May 29, 826 Valencia and 275 supporters gathered at the St. Regis Hotel downtown in support of our free student programs at The Annual Spring Luncheon. We were honored to have Francis Ford Coppola and Thao Nguyen as our special guests.

Mr. Coppola gave acting advice to our playwriting students from Downtown High School after their performances. Indie-rockstar and our very own after-school tutor, Thao Nguyen, spoke about her wonderful experiences as a tutor at 826 Valencia these past four years and how 826 grounds her after coming home from touring with her band Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. Thao and the band accompanied tutoring students Natalia Gonzalez, Ronaldo Rodriguez, and Keily Ponce in a rocking 826 rendition of ‘ABC’ by the Jackson 5.

Francis Ford Coppola offered some wisdom to writers of all ages: “Write what is personal because then there can be nothing like it.” He also gave some great practical encouragement that was tweeted by some of our followers, “I know of an exercise for writers: Apply your rear to the seat of your chair, and get to work.”

We would love to thank Francis Ford Coppola and Thao Nguyen for being our special guests this year, Chestnut and Vine for their beautiful floral arrangements, and the St. Regis Hotel for hosting our luncheon for the fourth year in a row. We would especially love to thank all the wonderful supporters and guests who attended this year’s luncheon and helped us raise funds to keep our student writing programs free.

Thank you to our fabulous event sponsors!
Hardcover
$10,000 or more
Lisa Brown and Daniel Handler
Mary Schaefer

Paperback
$5,000 or more
Kirsten and Michael Beckwith

Chapbook
$2,500 or more
826 National
Jill Grossman
Matt Middlebrook and Lisa Presta

Thank you to our wonderful event hosts!
2013 FOG Rally
Abigail and Ian Jardine
Abner Morales
Andrew Strickman and Michal Ettinger
Barbara Bersche and David Katznelson
Bi-Rite Family of Businesses
Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida
Gene and Suzanne Valla
The Isabel Allende Foundation
Jordan Kurland
Karen and Jim Wagstaffe
Maria Baird and George Cotsirilos
Miette
Nínive and Jean-Claude Calegari
Olive Mitra
Rivendell Bikes
Sydney Goldstein
Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg
Tommy Mike
Volume Inc.