Matt Carney loves books.
A lifetime of literary appreciation found Matt working at the now-closed Maple Street Book Shop in NOLA in 2010, where he met Doug Keller, 826 National’s first-ever Network Growth Manager (then, the founder and ED of Big Class which became 826 New Orleans). Doug told Matt about the youth writing program he had just started and Matt jumped at the chance to get involved–ultimately doing “just about everything, except teach classes,” Matt shares. “I gave money when I could, helped with after school tutoring, development odds and ends and even co-curated an art show fundraiser!” Of course, when he moved to San Francisco, connecting with 826 Valencia was a natural. Matt started volunteering in our programs and, as a Member Support Specialist for Credit Karma, began organizing volunteer field trips for colleagues. When 826 Valencia started an Associate Board–a cohort of passionate young professionals–in 2018, Matt was one of the first to join. “I really believe in supporting the creative process. Creativity supports the growth of agency, especially at a young age” he says. “My gifts of time and money allows 826 Valencia to continue helping students to find themselves and make sense of the world through reading and writing.” We couldn’t have said it better. Thank you Matt, for all the ways you show up in support of our programs and our work.
To learn more about donating in support of our free programs, click here.
To learn more about the 826 Valencia Associate Board and how to get involved, please email nicole@826valencia.org.