Jesse was born and raised in Harlem, where he’s become a community leader and captain of Harlem Run. He’s run the NYC Marathon before, but this time it’s different: he’s running to uplift youth who often get written off before their stories even begin. Jesse sees running as a tool for visibility, wellness, and change— and Next PAGE’s mission reflects the kind of community investment he’s spent years embodying. Running these 26.2 miles is about more than a personal best. It’s about making space for the next generation.
Jess do it.
JESSE LIRIANO
About Next PAGE
Next PAGE is a literacy nonprofit based in NYC that provides trauma-informed, healing-centered creative writing workshops to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated kids. Through the program, students build community, explore identity, and collaborate with award-winning artists and top-tier industry professionals to publish their own zine and—soon—a professional coffee table collection, with royalties going back to the student authors.
Kids who participate in educational programming while incarcerated are almost half as likely to reoffend. Literacy is the key to getting out—and staying out. This marathon is about raising money— and visibility for Next PAGE. We want both the community and the kids in the program to know that we care about them and believe in them.
Want to support long-term? Just $2/week can change a kid’s future.
We’re aiming to build something sustainable — and that starts with community. Just $2/week — that doesn’t even get you a subway swipe these days — can help keep this program going strong for years to come.
Help a kid
turn the pageMore than 70% of inmates in American prisons read at a fourth grade level or below.
Kids who are locked up are 12% less likely to graduate high school and 23% more likely to be re-incarcerated as adults.
According to the Department of Justice: "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading.”
More than 70% of inmates in American prisons read at a fourth grade level or below. Kids who are locked up are 12% less likely to graduate high school and 23% more likely to be re-incarcerated as adults. According to the Department of Justice: "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading.”
All donations to Next PAGE are tax deductible.
Here’s how your contribution can make a difference:
📓 $5 → A composition notebook for one student
📚 $50 → Journals for the entire classroom
🍽️ $75 → Graduation dinner for one student + 2 family members
✏️ $100 → one hour of 1:1 writing support with a trauma-informed instructor outside of classtime
🎤 $1,000 → A guest artist visit (poet, musician, illustrator)
Ready to help a kid turn the page?
Every dollar goes directly toward providing creative writing workshops to incarcerated youth.
Opus 1 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 84-4029712), serves as the fiscal sponsor for the Next PAGE program, providing fiduciary oversight and enabling tax-deductible contributions to the program.
Top photo credit: @franipac on Instagram