A program to help set girls at two Santa Clarita Valley probationary camps on the road to academic success through creative writing and mentoring has been honored at the White House by first lady Michelle Obama.

Representatives from WriteGirl, a nonprofit that serves girls at Camp Scott and Camp Scudder in Saugus, were presented Friday with the 2013 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program award by Obama in the East Room of the White House. WriteGirl was one of 12 organizations nationwide to receive the honor.

ATVN SPOTLIGHT: WriteGirl is a creative writing mentoring program for high school girls," said Keren Taylor, the Founder and Executive Director of WriteGirl. "We pair them with women writers so they get mentored.

Each week, Jeremy Rosenberg (@LosJeremy) asks, "How did you - or your family before you - wind up living in Los Angeles?"

This week he hears from Keren Taylor, Executive Director of WriteGirl.

The Etc. Stage at the L.A. Times Festival of Books kicked off its Sunday festivities with a presentation by WriteGirl, a Los Angeles-based organization founded by Keren Taylor to pair mentors with young girl writers and to encourage them to find empowerment through self-expression.

The focus of our first socialite spotlight is Keren Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of WriteGirl. WriteGirl was launched in December 2001 to bring the skills and energy of professional women writers to teenage girls who do not otherwise have access to creative writing or mentoring programs.