Professional scribes give girls the write stuff.

For the past five years, a small group of at-risk teen girls in Los Angeles have enjoyed one-on-one mentoring from local professional writers through the non-profit WriteGirl organization. And in that time, every participating high school student has gone on to college, the Associated Press reports. Many of them are the first members of their family to attend a university.

Funding issues keep the program capped at 50 participants, who are mentored by more than 50 volunteer professionals from writing fields as varied as journalism, screenwriting and songwriting. WriteGirl was founded by singer-songwriter Keren Taylor, and it's become so popular that all the slots are filled by referral.

The program is popular with the women who volunteer to become writing mentors as well. "You remember what was so joyful about it, what the world of a story was like, what the world of characters was like and why it is so fun," says Allison Deegan, WriteGirl associate director. "It's a joy to share the thing you love the most with a group of kids who love it too."