A welcome and an update

Thank you for your support of the Lexington Writer's Room!

Hello! You are receiving this email because you’ve supported our nonprofit organization, the Lexington Writer’s Room, in the past. This is a newly created email list, so that we can keep everyone up to speed as we recover from the recent fire. Your contact information will never be shared and — while we hope you’ll stick around — we also invite anyone who would rather not get these updates to unsubscribe at any time. And, while we have you, a heartfelt THANK YOU from all our writers and our all-volunteer board.

Our intention is to send occasional updates to mark significant occasions; we will NOT be constantly bombarding you with requests for money. We promise. We hate that. We have two significant pieces of news to share with you.

First up: We are absolutely delighted to announce that we have secured a new space!

Last week, the LWR signed a lease agreement to move to the former Common Grounds Coffee Shop location at 343 East High Street.

“We are so grateful to our local community and to the larger writing world for its support during this difficult time,” said co-founder and LWR Board Chair Lisa Haneberg. “We remain as committed as ever to our mission of supporting local writers with workspace, space for events, and a robust writing community. We are doubly thrilled to be able to move into such a beloved building—one where many of us have written in the past.”

Founded at the beginning of the pandemic, the LWR has managed to thrive in the past year, going from 13 original member writers to 54 now, and developing close partnerships with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and its Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative.

The LWR also extends its thanks again to all of you who have reached out with support and donations. So far, more than $12,000 has been raised to support the nonprofit’s recovery and move costs.

“It has been so heartening to see people step up with financial support for our mission,” said Gwenda Bond, co-founder and board member. “Our needs continue, so we invite everyone to keep spreading the word as we work toward moving into our new space. Kentucky has a special literary tradition and we plan to be part of it for a long time to come.”

Which brings us to our second piece of news!

We're so thankful for the support we've received from people who heard news about the fire that forced us to move from our beloved location on Second Street. We lost most of our contents ("contents" seems inadequate to describe our special workspace) but know we can and will re-create an inspiring space for our writers.

We've created two wish lists for those who want to help us move into our new location. Please share this post with pals who might be doing some spring cleaning or are in the furniture business. (We will have a separate wish list for books coming later.)

You'll find our goods donation wish list here and our Amazon wishlist here. Either type of contribution is most welcome.

If you have something you think might be a good fit for our new space, let us know by emailing us at info@lexwritersroom.org. Please also send a picture of the item(s) so we can determine if the piece will fit into our space. Many standard desks will be larger than we can accommodate in our coworking space, for example. There are some pictures of our space (before the fire) here to give you a sense for our set up. We have lots of desks and desk chairs, and comfortable chairs and side tables sprinkled throughout. And plants!

Whether you're able to donate or help by sharing this with others, once again:

THANK YOU!

Visit our website for more information about us, ways to support and donate, or to send us any questions you might have.