Superhero Supplies

So I teach elementary school. That's my job. Other educators out there, or students, or recent students, or people who love thinking about calendars, you're probably aware that I get a couple months off every summer. Heavy drinking only entertained me for the first month, so I had to find something to fill some time. I decided to do some volunteering. I settled on a place that fits both my skills and my interests, and I'd like to tell you fine folks a little bit about it.

It's called the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store. We sell capes, grappling hooks, secret identity kits, all sorts of gadgets, and more esoteric items like cans of Truth Serum or Antimatter. When you're doing the retail clerking part, you most often are answering a question like, "So, really, what IS this place?"

And the truth, as you know if you've clicked on the 826NYC link, is that we are "a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success," to steal a quote from the website. Basically, we tutor, teach classes, and do whatever we can to make sure kids are learning to write. We publish their work in chapbooks and everyone goes home happy.

So if you're a local, come by. If you've got kids or know someone who has kids, bring them in for some drop-in tutoring. And if you've got some spare cash, a donation would be super nice. Oh, and for you people not fortunate enough to be living in New York, there's The Pirate Supply Store in Valencia, The Secret Agent Supply Store in Chicago, The Astronaut Supply Store in Seattle, and more branches in Los Angeles, Michigan, and more. It's good stuff that kids need. And the stores are fun as hell.