Welcome to our blog series, Plot Twist! Here, we'll be sharing the stories of people in the Words Alive community — stories of change, growth, and maybe a few surprising twists! We hope that through these stories, you'll get to know our community a little better and see the power of literacy come to life.
A picture of Meher.
Meet Meher Gandhi, an incredible volunteer who supports us all the way from her home Uttar Pradesh, India! Meher is a college student who navigates a 12-hour time difference to host virtual orientation sessions for those interested in joining our community.
To Meher, being an orientation leader is all about “letting [new volunteers] know how much hard work, but also compassion that goes into the work that we do at Words Alive.” And she’s done a fantastic job: she has single-handedly introduced 130 potential volunteers to Words Alive since October, and was recently named Engagement Volunteer of the Year at our 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration for her incredible work.
To introduce herself, Meher says, “Anybody who knows me knows that I love literature; I love reading and writing and talking to people and getting to know them, which is precisely why I am glad that I'm a part of Words Alive!”
At university, she studies media, literature, and psychology, and she also works with publishers to review books on her blog and her bookstagram (book-themed Instagram) account @bustleboutbooks — so she has a lot of experience with the power of words.
In the fall of 2020, she decided to try to find a place where she could use her love for reading and writing and her diverse experiences in the world of words to give back to the community. She wanted to increase access to the kinds of literacy resources that have made such an impact in her own life.
“I signed up with VolunteerMatch, and then I got to know about Words Alive and I didn't look any further,” she says, smiling.
The cover of Dear Martin, by Nic Stone.
Initially, Meher joined us as a curriculum writer for the book Dear Martin by Nic Stone. She loved learning how to analyze books on a deeper level and knowing that the curriculum she wrote would directly impact the lives of students.
“I’ve analyzed the book and I’ve brought together some resources that can actually help kids in the longer run to really understand aspects like racism or violence or police brutality,” she says.
Though the topics may sometimes be difficult, she loves getting to help students grapple with these big concepts through words and stories.
After a few months of curriculum writing, Meher stepped up to lead other volunteers as an orientation leader.
“When I had to give the first orientation...I was pretty nervous, because there was a lot of responsibility that I felt...being the face of the organization,” she shares. “I wanted to be absolutely perfect at that — at communicating all the values that we uphold and how we really approach things,” she says.
Meher herself had only been with Words Alive for two to three months at this point! But this fresh perspective made her the perfect person to understand how other new volunteers might feel when hearing about Words Alive for the first time and to address their doubts and concerns. With each new orientation, she grew in her confidence and ability to share the mission of Words Alive.
Because of the time difference between the U.S. and India, she occasionally has to run her orientations at 4 in the morning! But she doesn’t mind. “I do remember waking up in the middle of the night for my first orientation for Words Alive, and that's something I will always cherish because that just shows how much I really wanted to be a part of it,” Meher says.
Words Alive volunteer Jim McIlhon presents Meher the Engagement Volunteer of the Year Award at the Volunteer Appreciation Celebration.
“It's all been worth it. I welcome all the new potential volunteers that come in, and that’s just wonderful because there are a lot of new people who want to know about Words Alive,” she says. “I am really, really grateful to be a part of the organization...Everybody makes you feel like it’s a family.”
Meher is passionate about creating opportunities for people from different cultures to learn from each other. “Being an international volunteer, I do have sort of a different way to approach certain things,” she says. “But I think that’s how we can actually learn to incorporate different cultural heritages and cultural introductions that we give to each other.”
“Literacy is not just about gaining qualifications or degrees; it’s more about broadening your horizons on the ways you look at things.”
“You have a mix of all these cultures and all these traditions...and that just contributes to the higher purpose we have,” she says. “Literacy is not just about gaining qualifications or degrees; it’s more about broadening your horizons on the ways you look at things.”
Meher’s biggest takeaway from being a Words Alive volunteer, she says, is that she “was able to really understand the ways of the organization and how we are really giving something to the community—to the people—not just in words, but in actions.”
In the future, Meher hopes that Words Alive can bring in even more international volunteers so that more people around the world learn about our work. She is also excited about engaging more with other volunteers and trying out new roles within Words Alive such as the Storytelling Team and Page Turners.
And one day, she says, “I really hope I can visit San Diego and see and meet you all in person!”
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Meher, we hope we get to meet you in person one day too! You are making a difference around the world and we are so thankful for the passion you bring to Words Alive.
This post was created by Zoe Wong and Judy Stout, Words Alive volunteers! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? We'd love to have you on the team! Email to learn more.