Welcome to The Words Alive Reader, a regular newsletter keeping you up-to-date with the latest in how we've been connecting children, teens, and families to the power of reading. What have we been up to and how can you help? Read on to find out!
Words Alive in The San Diego Union-Tribune
A picture of our Executive Director, Rachael, with lots of books in a San Diego Union-Tribune article.
“When we rethought what the world looked like, we were able to meet people where they were and give them the opportunity to heal themselves and each other." — Rachael Orose, Executive Director of Words Alive
We were featured in the Local section of The San Diego Union-Tribune for our work during the pandemic! We're so honored to have our work recognized in this way — and it's a powerful testament to the support of our community. Story Station, Treat Yo' Shelf, Page Turners, Family Literacy, Read Aloud Program, Adolescent Book Group, the Westreich Scholarship, and so much more wouldn't exist without you!
Read the article here to learn more about our impact during the pandemic.
Champions for Youth Results
An image of a smiling child with his mother below the words “THANK YOU for helping us raise $35,000!”
Over the last two months, 22 volunteer fundraisers helped us raise more than $35,000 in our Champions for Youth campaign! A huge shoutout to all of the donors, fundraisers, and Champions who spread the mission and message of this Words Alive campaign. We are so grateful for your support.
If you missed out on the campaign but still want to support our students and families, it's not too late! Donate here.
New Board Leadership
A graphic featuring our incoming and past Words Alive Board Chairs: Andrea MacDonald, Past Board Chair, and Karen Silberman, Incoming Board Chair.
Join us in welcoming four new officers to the Words Alive Board of Directors: Karen Silberman, Chair; Laura Kohn, Vice Chair; Karen Malin, Secretary; and Sandra Korwek, Treasurer!
At the January Board meeting, our new Chair, Karen Silberman, outlined a vision for Words Alive with highlights including improving the financial stability of the organization, raising Words Alive’s profile throughout San Diego, and increasing and celebrating diversity throughout all aspects of our work.
We are so thankful to Andrea MacDonald for her fearless leadership and service as our Board Chair the past two years, guiding us through significant organizational transitions including finding a new executive director and pivoting our organization to be responsive to the needs of our community during the pandemic. We are honored that Andrea will continue to serve on the Board and continue to guide us forward.
You can learn more about our Board of Directors here!
Anonymous $150,000 Gift!
A graphic of a mother and two children with the words “THANK YOU for $150,000 to help us change lives!”
We are excited and humbled to share that Words Alive has received an incredible donation of $150,000!! You can read all about it in the Times of San Diego.
The donor has chosen to remain anonymous, but just in case they’re reading this, we are deeply grateful for your incredible generosity and support. We couldn't do what we do without the support of our community, and now we're able to change even more lives through the power of reading!
Project Literacy Special on ABC 10 News
A screenshot from the Project Literacy Special. A newscaster stands in front of an image of a mother reading to her daughters, with the caption “Project Literacy: Building lifelong love of reading.”
It’s been a newsworthy month for us at Words Alive! We were recently featured in a 30-minute Project Literacy special on ABC 10. In the Reader, you hear a lot about the work that we're doing, but the truth is: we're just one solution in a community-wide effort to combat illiteracy.
We encourage you to check out the special to learn more about how illiteracy affects our community and the many incredible people who are working to address this problem. Find the whole video here!
Celebrate Black History Month with Cover to Cover
The cover of Dear Martin by Nic Stone.
This February, celebrate Black History Month by reading Dear Martin with us through Cover to Cover, our monthly book club for teens! Through Cover to Cover, we guide teens through diverse, relevant, and modern novels — stories that often reflect their lived experiences.
Dear Martin, a powerful coming of age story by Nic Stone, explores themes of racial injustice, police brutality, and interracial relationships as the main character, Justyce, copes with current events in his life by writing letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. Every week in February, we'll be releasing new activities for 9th-12th graders to engage with the important ideas in this book — ones that are crucial to our work all year round. Follow along here!
This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by us, a cohort of volunteers! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? We'd love your help! Email to learn more.
- Zoe, Eli, Nia and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team