Last week a young girl, maybe 5 years old, came up to me at a Words Alive event, tugged on my sleeve and asked, "Are you sure I can keep all four of these books? They are really for me?" When I assured her they were hers to keep, her eyes lit up, she paused for a moment, and then said, "Just wait until I tell Ms. Melinda. She's going to love this! Do you know Ms. Melinda?" Struggling to balance all four books, she then scurried off to tell her friends that I knew Ms. Melinda, the beloved Words Alive volunteer that comes to her classroom every Monday to read.
We are meeting our children and families with energy, enthusiasm, compassion....and results. In just the past 50 days, Words Alive has:
Helped create home libraries by giving away more than 8,000 children's books to children, families, teachers, and community partners;
Cut, glued, taped, colored, and stuffed more than 2,000 hands-on activities in preparation for the 130+ early literacy workshops we're hosting this spring to inspire a love of reading in families with preschoolers;
Received donations of more than 2,000 books through in-person and virtual book drives led by families, Scout Troops, service clubs, schools, and our newest partner, the Charley Hoffman Foundation;
Launched Page Turners, a new initiative where everyone is invited to read, and provide feedback on, titles that are being considered for inclusion in our upcoming programs;
Introduced 16 new volunteers to Words Alive, providing them with opportunities to help support our work inside, and outside, of the classroom;
Enabled nearly 100 Words Alive students to meet Tomi Adeyemi and Marcie Colleen, authors of books they are reading in our programs;
Welcomed over 400 new donors to Words Alive, who helped raise tens of thousands of dollars in our second Champions for Youth campaign in collaboration with The Century Club of San Diego and Farmers Insurance; and
Supported our volunteers who have invested - in just the past 50 days - more than 470 hours to help ensure that the children and families in our community are connected to the power of reading.
All of this in just 50 days.
So, yes, little one. I do know Ms. Melinda, and Mr. Jim, and Ms. Stacy and Mr. Bruce, and Ms. Barb and Mr. Al because they - and hundreds more like them - are helping us make sure that you have all of the resources you need to grow a into strong, excited, and successful reader.
I'm looking forward to the next 50 days.
Thank you for being part of the Words Alive community,
Rachael
Rachael Orose, MPA
Executive Director