A Message from Story Pirates as 2025 Comes to a Close:

We started Story Pirates simply by asking, what if, in a few short sessions, we could blow kids’ minds, perking them up from their educational malaise and awakening their innate confidence as storytellers?

In our first year, we were proud to serve several thousand students. Today, between our expanded work in classrooms across the country and our slate of popular media — including the multi-award-winning Story Pirates Podcast—we reach roughly a million people every month.

We recently asked some of the young authors who participated in Story Pirates as kids, “What was the lasting impact of that experience?” Here are some of their responses: 

“My story aired when I was in 2nd grade. I had just been diagnosed with dyslexia, and I didn’t have much confidence in my writing. Hearing my story on Story Pirates made me feel like, despite the challenges I had at school, I can accomplish anything.” — Nava, age 14

"Being featured by Story Pirates was a formative event in my relationship with writing. Even after eight years, it's still my favorite pastime, and I owe it in large part to Story Pirates for giving me the confidence to believe in myself as a storyteller." — Jonah, age 18

As you may have heard on the Story Pirates Podcast, we have been severely impacted by many of the same issues affecting other valued free forms of educational media like PBS. We’re also at a moment when Story Pirates Changemakers’ mission is more critical than ever. Many of the Title I schools we serve are struggling with the peak effects of pandemic-era learning loss, disproportionately leaving elementary schoolers behind in reading and writing. 

We invite you to support our ambitious plans to reach more kids than ever before in 2026 by: 

  • Expanding Story Quest, our creative writing mini-series available at no cost for Title I schools

  • The Return of School Assemblies, allowing Story Pirates to inspire and teach creative writing in schools

  • Educational Programming and Story Love (our program that responds to all stories kids submit) in Spanish

  • The Launch of Story Pirates Satellites, to expand our work around the country

Story Pirates has an urgent and uniquely uplifting role to play in fostering the creative development of the next generation, and we need your help to make it happen. Every kid is a brilliant writer waiting to be unleashed, and every dollar we raise helps us reach more kids. Thank you, so much, for your support.

With gratitude,
The Story Pirates

P. S. As a result of current changes, for the first time, we do not have adequate funding to complete the current Story Pirates Podcast season. Last month, as we launched Season 8, we announced a crowdfunding campaign with some truly incredible perks that we’ll never offer again, like a custom cameo for $150 or a story adaptation for $5,000. As we finish out the year, we also invite you to make tax-deductible donation of any amount to help us fund continued production of the Story Pirates Podcast here.

Story Pirates Changemakers is a DBA of Creative Minds NYC Inc., EIN 02-0720786

Donations made by check can be made out to Story Pirates and mailed to:

Story Pirates Changemakers
35 West 35th Street Suite #701
New York, NY 10001