It is said that the power of words and books can change lives. And that's exactly what's happening in the Downtown Eastside and East Vancouver with the Writers Exchange, a program designed to give under-resourced kids a chance to find their potential through reading and creative writing.

Jordan Kawchuck recently sat down with co-founder Jennifer MacLeod to discuss the writer's exchange now celebrating its 10th anniversary. "We currently have 17 programs running at eight different sites, and we also have a whole bunch of wonderful volunteers donate their time to spend with the kids and youth and have some fun with some fun activities, reading and writing" says MacLeod.

The idea of creating the Writers Exchange came from co-founder Sarah Maitland "who was working in a program with kids and wanted to do a play activity. Putting it together, she noticed that the literacy skills of the kids she was working with were too low to be able to have them feel successful with what they were doing and that's where it all came from."

Listen to the interview to learn more about the program.