826 Valencia (S5E13)

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather and Jeff Hunt

We've been wanting to do this episode for years.

826 Valencia is a non-profit whose aim is to help young people write creatively. They’ve operated out of the space at the address in their name since the early 2000s. For Part 1, we sat down with 826’s Director of Volunteer Engagement Kavitha Lotun and Pirate Supply Store Manager Byron Weiss to discuss their respective stories of moving to San Francisco and the origins and mission of 826 Valencia.

In Part 2, Kavitha and Byron talk about the nonprofit’s relationship with and support of students from San Francisco public schools. We hear all about really cool projects that the kids engage in, from publishing books to producing podcasts.

Then we talk about the expansion that 826 Valencia has undergone over the years. In San Francisco, they’ve opened two new nonprofit learning centers that each have their own uniquely themed stores up front. And they’ve gone national, with spots in nearly 10 different cities around the US.

We end with some thoughts about the future of 826 Valencia.

They’ll be at Spark Social every Sunday next month starting on April 9.

And we all know the address of their Mission District location. But these are the addresses for their digs in the Tenderloin and Mission Bay:

• 180 Golden Gate Avenue at Leavenworth
• 1310 Fourth Street at China Basin

We recorded this podcast at 826 Valencia in March 2023.