Bostonist Interview AND Giveaway: Daniel Johnson, Executive Director, 826 Boston

So they came to you?

I started in the summer, actually. They came together and started thinking about ways to make a difference in Boston and then after talking to students, educators, administrators, community leaders, settled on their location, and applied to 826 National to become a chapter and affiliate. It happened in December 2006.

How has your reception been in Boston now that you're actually building?

I'm new to Boston as of about a year ago. I think the reception has been fantastic, from our landlords, Urban Edge, a nonprofit working in Roxbury. They provide affordable housing to thousands of people in the area. They provided us free office space. We've gotten a grant towards storefront improvement from the Egleston Square Main Streets Association. Lots of teachers have been reaching out to us from Hernandez Elementary School, lots of neighborhood schools. I think the community is as excited as we are.

There's also the Boston Neighborhood Network. They're about to open a studio basically two buildings away from us. I'm going to be on BNN tomorrow, but they have a studio dedicated for community organization use. There's a dance studio across the street from us. The organizations that already exist are really powerful and have great histories. We hope to be complementary and provide some additional services and a lot of fun. We're working on this store and creating a buzz.

We're about to go hunting for all kinds of free things, like desks, and chairs, and bookshelves, and books.

Are you ready to sell cryptozoology products?

We're working with students and artists to dream up a product line. And we have a name for the store. It's called the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute.

Our building stands out in some ways. It's shiny and glassy. The façade has a lot of metal. It looks a lot like a research institute. Boston being the research hub that it is, this is taking that idea in completely the wrong direction.

Is Bigfoot the mascot for 826 Boston? Where are Nessie and the Yeti going to fit in?

We really love the Mongolian Death Worm and the Fur-Bearing Trout. There are so many animals we know are out there. We hope to help field research! Bigfoot is the gateway to cryptozoology.

How did you get such a great job?

Good question. Ten years ago, if you said you're going to be director of this organization which is full of really passionate, intelligent lunatics … not lunatics of course … I would never have imagined it. A lot of good luck. My writing has always been really important to me. And my teaching experience ranges from teaching in the prisons to in residential centers to the hospitals to the schools. This is taking those interests and combining them.

How can somebody who is reading this for the first time get involved?

We're holding volunteer orientations throughout September. Go to our website and download an application. Tell us about themselves and send it to us. We hold an orientation and then some follow-up trainings to get people excited and to work with students.

What can a person do other than teaching?

We have a lot of needs. Financial donations, in-kind donations. We are creating a "housewarming registry," similar to the wedding registry. Rather than buying us straw bathmats or whatever, we're putting books, chairs, tables, and computers on this registry. [Though if you are willing to send Bostonist straw bathmats, you can reach us at … nevermind - Ed.]

Are you getting a lot of students who want to volunteer?

Lots of students, Boston being the college and university town that it is. Former teachers - we're really interested in creating an intergenerational, diverse group of volunteers. We want students to be able to draw on that experience.

What are some sample assignments that you already have planned?

We're going to lead a writing workshop at Media Matters, the conference run by the Boston Globe. It will be on journalism. We thought writing tabloid fiction would be a great lesson. The title is Casey's creation: "Bigfoot orders vegetarian burrito at Roxbury taco hut. This workshop promises to turn everything you learned about journalism on its head. Come find out about injecting your writing with hyperbole, alliteration, cliché, and fast-paced narrative. Do you keep an issue of US Weekly under your copy of Tender Is the Night?" [Casey is 826's intern who has a gift for tabloid headlines - watch out Perez Hilton! - Ed.]

We want to bring a quirky, enthusiastic, inspiring group of teachers and volunteers into classrooms. When teachers bring their students to us, when they walk through the Bigfoot Research Institute through the secret door into the writing and tutoring center, at that point, they don't know what to think. They're vulnerable to some really fun, creative, whimsical lessons. That's the hope!