Happy International Literacy Day 2021!

It's International Literacy Day! Here at Words Alive, we champion the beauty and importance of literacy each and every day. But each year, on September 8th, International Literacy Day is celebrated worldwide as a way to highlight the importance of literacy for children and adults of all backgrounds, nationalities, communities, and societies. Though we started out as a San Diego-focused organization, the Words Alive community now spans the globe, with our volunteers supporting us from 18 different countries and creating content for our readers in eight different languages!

Here's what one of our volunteers in India, Meher Gandhi, had to say about the importance of today: "Is literacy only about reading and writing or is it about thinking at such levels that form the base for confident and independent living? It must be the latter and if so, then the goal must be shared by all nations. This International Literacy Day, let's think about no boundaries except the one between literacy and lack of it." We're celebrating International Literacy Day because we believe that no matter where you are in the world, literacy matters!

Declared a UNESCO world holiday in 1966, International Literacy Day is celebrated under a different theme every year. This year’s theme is, “Literacy for a human-centered recovery: Narrowing the digital divide.” Although literacy has improved greatly in the past fifty plus years, illiteracy still remains a global issue. And with Covid-19 disrupting the lives of countless individuals across the globe, inequalities in access to educational and literary opportunities have been dramatically magnified. The shift to online learning upended the education of millions of children and sadly, kids from families with limited access to books, technology, and the internet were and are continuing to be the most affected.

This year’s theme will both celebrate and explore how literacy is impacted and changing with distance learning in a Covid-19 affected planet. Literacy is an essential piece of human and familial interactions as well as an integral facet of education and lifelong learning, and it is essential to our resilience and repair in the post-pandemic world. International Literacy Day challenges us to take ownership of the literacy crisis, taking the responsibility back home to local communities where literacy begins.

So what can YOU do to help, today on International Literacy Day and every day?

• Volunteer. Getting involved with Words Alive is a great place to start! You can find volunteer opportunities here.

• Take Action. Donate books to classrooms, start lending libraries in and outside your community, tutor, start a book club, and read with your family.

• Make a Donation. When we can count on your recurring support each month, we are able to reach more children, teens, and families. Your gift of just $5 each month supports a student's journey to connect to the power reading and can change the story of their life. Click here to make a donation.

Happy Reading!

This post was written by Keira Nordan, a Words Alive volunteer! 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.

Why Should We Write?

You probably know that here at Words Alive, we believe deeply in the power of reading. But did you know that the act of writing has tremendous value, too? As well as being a powerful tool for communication, writing can also be an art form—one that is capable of helping us understand our thoughts, emotions and situations. 

Read on to learn about a few of the many ways that writing can benefit us!

Writing can help us process emotions

““I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” ”

— Anne Frank

The ability to use words to shape an imagined reality, or to reflect our authentic realities, is not only a cathartic process, but one that can make our emotions clear to ourselves and help us make sense of them.

Creative writing can function as a medium for release of difficult emotions in a considerate, controlled way. It can provide anyone, young or old, with an environment free of judgement and expectations — a safe space where they can feel free to write their way through confusion, anger, frustration or sadness. And this has measurable impacts — the psychologist James Pennebaker has shown that when people write about emotional experiences, significant physical and mental health improvements often follow. 

Writing can increase our resilience

Another benefit of creative writing is its ability to develop resilience in a writer (one of our themes for this upcoming program year!). Writer and educator Laura Bean wrote an article for the University of California, Berkeley, about the various methods of creative writing that she uses to help her students build resilience.

In the face of challenges such as financial hardship, cramped living and learning environments, and domestic violence (and now isolation, health concerns, and mental health challenges brought on the pandemic), Bean describes how writing can help her students persevere.

By sharing their stories of bravery and resilience, they encourage a growth mindset in one another. Through studying and writing poetry, they focus on hope. As they reflect on their dreams, they build community and kindness towards themselves and others — all factors that contribute to resilience. 

Writing can help us become better readers

Mary K. Tedrow, an award-winning teacher and author of the book Write, Think, Learn asserts that writing and reading are fundamentally dependent on each other. As students develop their own work, they learn how to understand other authors better. Writing can help students become better readers by increasing their reading fluency, encouraging a deeper understanding of the written word, and helping them grasp the construction of an author's argument. According to Tedrow, “Students who write are better, more observant, more appreciative readers...and students who read are better, more competent writers.” 

Writing can generate change

Writing can be a powerful form of activism. Whether we are sharing our personal true stories, highlighting social issues through fiction, or writing protest poetry, we can use our words to call people to action and generate change. Last year, we saw students do just that through our exhibit, The Future is Us, as they used art and words to call community leaders to action on issues such as equitable housing, racism, and environmental justice. As college students Jessenia N. Class and Robert Miranda wrote for The Harvard Crimson, "Ideas of change are powerful. And the words and the stories we use to tell these ideas have the potential to spark great movements."

Ready to start your writing journey?

If you still need some inspiration, visit our Covid Diaries exhibit to see some incredible examples of student writing. And when you're ready to write, check out the Words Alive Write Now page to find writing prompts, advice from published authors, and hands-on activities to get started. Happy writing!

This post was written by Nia Lewis and Zoe Wong, 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.

The Pandemic's Impact on Student Mental Health

Written by Ben Hollingshead, Words Alive volunteer and student at The Bishop's School in San Diego.

A student seated at a desk rests his head on his arms.

Last year, as COVID-19 started to spread virulently across the globe, schools were suspended in 188 countries and over 90% of enrolled learners, a whopping 1.5 billion students worldwide, were out of school, creating a global scale of disruption in education that is completely unprecedented. Today, over a year after the first cases of COVID were diagnosed in the United States, distance learning has taken a toll on the mental well-being of students.

“All we are left with is the monotony of academics on Zoom on repeat. ”

— RH, high school senior

One of my friends, a senior in high school, described it well when he said he has recently “hit the proverbial pandemic wall” after nearly a year in quarantine. “All that extra stuff that makes school fun—the sports, the rehearsals, the school lunches and just the fun spontaneously hanging out with friends—has been stripped from our experience. And all we are left with is the monotony of academics on Zoom on repeat.”

A black-and-white image of someone typing at a laptop.

For many of us, online school is frustrating. During a typical day online, students spend 6-7 hours staring at the computer screens trying to focus on lectures and then another 3-4 hours on homework also on the computer. These sterile digital screens typically do not allow us to gauge emotions in the room or truly interact with our friends like we would in a regular classroom.

This lack of interaction is tough, especially in classes where discussion and debate is the primary basis for learning. It also makes classes that require interactive laboratory work almost impossible to conduct effectively. So while students, in theory, are attending classes, they may not be getting the same level of academic rigor as they would in a typical in-person classroom. 

A girl sits alone on a couch.

While the loss of learning is concerning, it is the sense of isolation that comes with online learning that is the most disturbing. School is where most of us build our social network. Interacting with friends at school is a healthy way to buffer the stresses (tests, parental pressure) that we experience. With school closures, this physical social safety-net no longer exists. The new normal is disconcerting and extremely lonely. 

Added to this sense of isolation, many families face increased stress and anxiety as more parents are faced with job losses and food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. Even in households where the parents have not experienced job loss, students mention feeling cooped-up after months of isolation.

“We are on Zoom all day long, everyone staring at different computer screens 24/7.”

— A.V., high school first-year

My friend A.V. described feeling “claustrophobic as everyone in my family is stuck inside the house. I’m in my room, my brother in his, my dad and mom are in a separate room also working. We are on Zoom all day long, everyone staring at different computer screens 24/7.”

All these factors, coupled with the constant fear about catching the virus itself—not to mention the most vitriolic and divisive Presidential Election in the history of this country taking place as they struggle through school—has resulted in a significant increase in the number of students that need emergency mental health counseling services. In a recent Gallup poll, nearly three in 10 (29%) parents disturbingly say their child is "already experiencing harm" to their mental health because of social distancing and school closures. And another 14% of parents say that their children are close to hitting their limits.

A picture of Rady Children’s Hospital.

According to Sandy Mueller, Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services for Rady Children’s Hospital, the hospital has seen a “spike, about a 5 percent to 7 percent increase in the kids coming to our emergency room” with mental health issues compared to the previous year (San Diego Union Tribune 2/2021). This mirrors national data from the CDC that shows a 24% increase in mental health-related ER visits among children 5-11 and 31% increase among adolescents ages 12 to 17 compared to similar periods in 2019. 

What is especially heartbreaking is that the pandemic has disproportionately affected already vulnerable populations. In San Diego County alone, 100,000 children do not have basic access to the Internet so they can attend their classes. While the average student could fall behind seven months academically, the loss could be as much as 10 months for Black children and nine months for Latinx children. Students with existing mental health conditions and those with learning disabilities have not had the same face-to-face access to counselors and resources as they did pre-pandemic. Things have been especially dire for children in abusive homes, as the pandemic has forced them to be locked in with their abusers with no access to the safe haven of schools.

A picture of volunteers sorting book donations.

During the pandemic, Words Alive volunteers helped families grow their home libraries and read together while schools were closed.

But while the challenges of the pandemic are many, we as a community, and you and I as individuals, are not powerless. One thing I am definitely grateful for is the opportunity to volunteer at Words Alive to support their work during the pandemic. It has shown me that we can take action to help our students, and over the last year, I’ve watched countless counselors, educators, nonprofits, families and community members do just that, stepping up time and time again to confront the challenges thrown at them by this virus.

And now, hope seems to be on the horizon. With vaccinations being administered and the number of cases dropping, public schools are beginning to reopen in a hybrid model. This model appears to be working well as many schools in San Diego have already moved to a hybrid model that combines distance and in-person learning, including The Bishop’s School, the school I attend. For the two days a week that I am physically at school, I appreciate, more than ever, the blessing of being able to hang out with friends and meet teachers on campus. 

A row of paper dolls wearing masks holds hands on an orange background.

This gratitude is ultimately the silver lining that I will take away from this pandemic. Small things that we tended to take completely for granted, like eating out or watching a movie with friends, will now feel new and will be celebrated.

After a year of disruptions and social isolation, I believe my generation of students will emerge more resilient and thankful for everything we have.

—

Thank you, Ben, for sharing your experiences with us! We are so grateful for your support and care for your fellow students.

If you connected with Ben’s story and want to take action to help our community’s most vulnerable students emerge strong from the pandemic, you can support our online, free resources for teens right here at Words Alive. Through our Treat Yo’ Shelf (formerly QuaranTEENs) resource, Words Alive has developed journaling prompts and writing exercises to help students explore healthy coping strategies for the increased stresses they are experiencing.

We are also about to launch our annual Art & Lit project in partnership with ArtReach and for the first time ever, the entire community can participate!

A red and gray Identity Circle from this year’s Art & Lit project.

Art & Lit helps students connect books to their own lives by guiding them through a thoughtful and engaging art project. In response to the mental health crisis many students are facing this year, our project is intentionally focused on books that explore themes of loneliness and isolation and you will explore themes of identity, courage, and bravery as you create your unique art piece. Learn more about getting involved here.

Plot Twist: Gayle Early

Welcome to our new 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 Gayle.

Meet Gayle Early! Gayle is a freelance writer and new volunteer who found us recently through the Californians For All Summer of Service project. Though she’s only been with Words Alive for a few months, her passion and enthusiasm for our mission overflows from the minute you meet her! In this interview, she shares her experience supporting in-person volunteer opportunities during the pandemic and her desire to share the magic of stories with others. (Note: all in-person volunteering took place earlier in the year, in accordance with county and state guidelines and restrictions. Stay safe!)

Gayle adores reading books of all kinds, which makes volunteering with Words Alive a natural fit. She jokes that she’ll even read the phone book if you let her! Years ago, at a boring dinner party, she opened a volume about the difference between oil- and water-based paints. It was the only book she could find, so she started reading without hesitation. “I was like, ’I can learn something here!’” she remembers, laughing. “If there's a book around, I'll pick it up,” she declares. “When you come to my house, the most I have of any object is books,” she says happily. “I would just give my last nickel for a book at a secondhand store.”

Gayle reading with one of her daughters when she was little.

She made sure to pass on this love of stories and reading to her own children, reading aloud to them even before they were born! She also volunteered as a reading tutor in her daughters’ school, where she found a lot of meaning in helping struggling students learn to enjoy reading. “Stories are magical and books are magic,” Gayle emphasizes. “I wanted to join this organization to have a little bit more of that magic with other kids besides my own.”

And Gayle doesn’t hesitate to turn her passion into action. When we asked for volunteers, her response was simple: “I was all in!”  

One of her first assignments was picking up book donations from other volunteers who were at high risk for COVID-19 and unable to leave home. “I was really happy to help with that for them, so that they didn’t need to go drop anything off or drive anywhere,” she says. She has also helped process large book donations from ReaderLink, which she really enjoyed. “That was so much fun!” she says. “Diving into an entire room full of brand-new books—that was pretty exciting for me.”

Volunteers sorting book donations. (Note: All in-person volunteering took place earlier in the year, in accordance with county and state guidelines and restrictions. Stay safe!)

She also loved the ability to safely connect with other volunteers, masks and all, over a passion for stories as they sorted through the titles. “It was like the highlight of that particular week of otherwise complete isolation,” Gayle says. “It was also a good workout!” she laughs, describing the process of moving boxes of books up and down the stairs.

Ever since she was little, reading has played an important role in Gayle's life. “Books saved my life when I was growing up, they really did,” she says, describing the library in the small town where she grew up. “I would go to that library and just get a stack of books and just escape into other worlds as a child.” One of her favorite books was a children’s science fiction novel by Eleanor Cameron called The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. In the book, two young boys build a rocket ship and have adventures with aliens on a faraway planet.

The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, one of Gayle’s favorite childhood books.

“As a little kid, I was in that rocket flying out to outer space, where the aliens were actually friendly and sweet and kind and funny,” she remembers. Instead of fear of the unknown and unfamiliar, this book represented “exploration and adventure and friendship” to Gayle. “It really paved my mentality for being a curious person, instead of a fear-based person,” she says. She also credits the literacy skills she picked up from devouring so many books with helping her excel in school.

Today, she hopes that she can help others have similar experiences with the transformative power of books. “I want that for kids in our community who might not have the support or may come from a tougher home life like I did,” she explains. “Reading is an escape from the reality that someone might be in, but it also expands the world,” she says. Through a good book, a kid in California has the opportunity to go to San Francisco in a story, or New York, or out to the country, or into the ocean—the possibilities for learning and exploring are endless.

“Stories can be healing, and stories can help you feel less alone. You recognize that some things are things we all have in common.

”

And as they expand our worlds, stories also bring us together. “Stories can be healing, and stories can help you feel less alone. You recognize that some things are things we all have in common,” Gayle says, a reminder that feels more important than ever right now. “Literacy is about empowering everybody to recognize and show up with their unique abilities and talents, because we need everybody, as a society,” she says. “Literacy is one way to reach people to show them what the possibilities are.”

Gayle, thank you for bringing your time, energy, and enthusiasm to Words Alive! We know that your story will inspire more volunteers to raise their hands and say, “I’m all in!”

Plot Twist: Logan Holland

Welcome to our new 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 Logan.

Meet Logan Holland, one of our awesome Words Alive volunteers! Logan is currently a graduate student at UC San Diego studying mitochondria and the heart, and she is a passionate and dedicated supporter of our mission. We sat down with Logan to talk about the surprising connection between science and literature, the role of books in her own life, and why she volunteers with Words Alive.

Logan joined us in 2018, during her second year of college. She was feeling unfulfilled in her undergraduate science classes—“like I needed more words and literature in my life,” she puts it—so she did a Google search and discovered Words Alive. She started out as an ABG and Art & Lit volunteer and has gone on to support us in many different roles since!

Logan's current favorite book, Bone Light by Orlando White.

“Literacy definitely impacts every single facet of everyday life,” she says, describing how literacy factors into civic engagement, navigating the healthcare system, and developing critical thinking skills (“becoming a better human!” as Logan puts it). And at Words Alive, she says, “Everyone is super passionate about reading and really spreading reading as not just a hobby, but as something that can really further education, further people’s opportunities, further people’s futures. That’s why I’ve stayed and tried to get involved as much as I can.”

In addition to the importance of basic literacy skills, she's passionate about the power of story to change lives. “Everything I did in college is because of books that I read as a kid,” she explains, “which is why I want to work with this organization.”

Words have held an important role in Logan’s own life ever since she was little, a book-loving kid reading for hours to pass the time while her parents worked. But until she began volunteering with Words Alive, she didn't fully appreciate how far books have gotten her. “Only one of my parents went to college, so I did not have this strong academic upbringing,” she says. But today, as a graduate student, she concludes: “I think the only reason I’m here is because I was reading a lot of books.”

““Doctors are interacting with humanity in a pretty raw form, right? Literature is doing the same thing, but just in a different way. It’s just really getting into what makes us human.””

The books that she read inspired her to explore the connection between science and stories with a major in biochemistry and a minor in literature and writing. “I like to think of myself as a double major at heart,” she says. “I wanted to understand humans biochemically, and then figuratively with literature.”

Her passion for exploring the human condition eventually led her to the field of medicine. “Doctors are interacting with humanity in a pretty raw form, right?” Logan points out. “Literature is doing the same thing, but just in a different way. It’s just really getting into what makes us human.”

She points to the framework of narrative medicine as an example. In narrative medicine, clinicians are trained to see illness, diagnosis and treatment as a story. “They’re having doctors read books and take creative writing classes to foster that empathy because that is super important in clinical practice, but also everyday life,” she explains. Logan sees this as evidence that stories are vital for helping us connect with and understand each other more deeply. “The more books we can get everyone reading, the better,” she declares. And through her work with Words Alive, she’s helped us do just that.

A screenshot from our Zoom conversation with Logan.

Since the pandemic hit, Logan has really taken leadership in training other volunteers to make an impact in this new virtual environment. She’s always enthusiastic and eager to help others understand the impact of the work they’ll be doing—she even recruited her roommate to start writing curriculum for us!

Throughout this experience, she has been surprised and encouraged by the amount of people who have stepped up to help. “It has been really amazing to work with Sara [our Communications Manager] and just recruit a lot more people because I think the more people helping, the bigger the better, the bigger the impact,” she says. She misses seeing the results of her work in person, but until then, she says, “I really hope that Words Alive can keep using the power of the internet to spread their message and recruit more volunteers.”

Of all the many hats she’s worn at Words Alive, from helping with Art & Lit to translating literacy sessions in Barrio Logan to virtually training other volunteers, writing curriculum is her favorite. Through her time volunteering in classrooms before COVID-19, she saw firsthand how good curriculum impacted the students she worked with; well-written questions got them engaged with a story, excited about a character or passionate about a cause.

A student speaks about the 2019 Art & Lit project, “The Radius of All of Us.”

She remembers one Art & Lit experience in particular, when she was able to see the impact of the book The Radius of Us on one of the students. “He gave a speech of gratitude of how much this book changed his perception of the world,” Logan says, smiling. “That is my favorite memory. To see that impact in one person was very, very cool.” 

Knowing that the questions she writes can lead to such powerful reactions is why she loves curriculum writing so much. “I’m just writing words on my computer at home,” she says, “but people are interacting with these words and they’re becoming ideas, or passions, or career choices—which is my life story.”

Logan, we’re so grateful for the time and energy you dedicate to bringing the power of words to our community. Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Introducing Plot Twist: Stories From the Words Alive Community

Welcome to our new 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.

Meet Andrea Vazquez! She is one of our second-year Westreich Scholars and recently transferred to George Fox University in Oregon, where she studies sociology. We wanted to talk to Andrea about her educational journey so far and learn what it’s been like to start at a new school during the pandemic!

Andrea in her new dorm at George Fox University!

Andrea is 19 and first got involved with Words Alive through the Adolescent Book Group at Monarch School in her freshman year. Before she graduated, she applied for and received the Westreich Scholarship!

For her, the most rewarding part of being a Westreich Scholar was her mentor, Sonya. “We got along very well, and even though our lives were a little different, there was one common thing that we had, and it was that our parents just expected a lot more of us than we can give. It was really nice to be able to vent to someone who could completely understand me.” Sonya’s experience working in a school was valuable as Andrea explored options for her future: “We would go out to eat, and try to figure out what my major could be, what I could do with school, if I needed help with any of my essays.”

Andrea and her mentor Sonya in 2019.

Andrea began her college journey at a local school as a biology major, but over time, found that it wasn’t the path she wanted to pursue. “I realized that it’s not that I hate biology, but I was just doing it because my family wanted me to do it.” When she took a sociology class about the problems of society, she discovered a new passion. “It was just amazing. With the way I grew up, I feel like I could give back in a way with this degree.” 

“I was working and taking care of my family and going to school full time so that really took a toll on me.”

Back in her senior year of high school, Andrea was accepted to George Fox University but ended up turning the offer down. “I said no, because I needed to help my mom out. I felt bad leaving,” she says. But focusing on her schoolwork was difficult that first year. “I was working and taking care of my family and going to school full time so that really took a toll on me and I didn’t do so well in a lot of my classes.” When she received a letter from George Fox saying that she was still welcome on campus, she decided to take the opportunity to transfer. As she planned her move to Oregon, she told herself, “I guess we’ll see if it’s just me not being good in school, or if it’s my environment.” 

“It was my environment,” she concludes firmly, five weeks into the new school year. With more time and space to dedicate to her education, she is happy to report that her grades have improved. She pointed to a recent test as an example: “I just took a math test, and I’m not the best at math, and it really showed last year. But I actually got a B+ and I was really proud of myself! It made me realize that this year will be a lot easier than before.”

Still, it’s no small feat to change schools and move to a different state in the midst of a global pandemic. Many aspects of the quintessential college experience are missing, replaced by COVID restrictions. “I can’t leave my room to go shower without a mask on!” Andrea says, laughing. “I just expected to get sent home. I was really scared at first, because I thought it was just going to be taken away again, and my freshman year got taken away already.”

But she has no regrets about moving. “Obviously it gets stressful, but I can take all day and just focus on myself instead of focusing on other people and only having half an hour to myself to do homework, which is really, really awesome.” She loves the kind professors and the small class sizes at George Fox and is excited about the opportunity to reconnect with her faith at a Christian school.

A screenshot of Andrea from our Zoom call.

Andrea appreciates being able to keep in touch with Words Alive throughout this transition. “When I first moved in, [Jess, our Teen Services Program Director] was like, ‘How is it?’ and I was like, ‘You remembered!’ It’s been really nice to hear from people, and actually know that they’re listening to what I’m doing.”

Reflecting on what she’s learned about herself through this journey, Andrea spoke about the importance of self-care and prioritizing her education. “Putting myself first matters sometimes. In situations like this, this is my education that’s going to determine the rest of my life, so it’s important. It’s okay to be selfish.”

“Putting myself first matters sometimes. In situations like this, this is my education that’s going to determine the rest of my life, so it’s important. It’s okay to be selfish.”

In the future, she says, “I really want to help people and be able to give back to my community. Our world is really crappy right now, so I want to be able to help be the change for that.” One of her biggest goals is to be able to give back to Monarch School because of the difference caring, understanding teachers and adults made in her life as a student there.

Andrea, we’re so proud of you for taking this step towards reaching your goals. Congratulations on your transfer, and we can’t wait to see how you change the world in the future!

A World Within Reach: A Message from Leslye Winkelman Lyons, Words Alive Founder

Dear Words Alive Community,

I hope this note finds you safe and healthy. I think about all members of our Words Alive family daily. I am safely quarantined, with food in my fridge, writing in my book-filled office. Although ever grateful, my mind is constantly on those who don’t have enough to protect themselves or nourish their bodies and minds. As I look at my bookshelves, I am reminded of and surrounded by writers, characters, and stories that have fed my imagination...

Books connect us to ourselves. I remember reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in my childhood bedroom in suburban Connecticut and deeply identifying with fictional Francie as she sat on her urban fire escape, realizing I wasn’t alone in my adolescent angst.

Books connect us to each other. Each month, as I volunteered to read aloud to Words Alive’s preschool students, I heard “the Words Alive lady is here” roaring through the classroom. The books I read not only connected me with the students, but also the students to letters, words, and concepts.

Books connect us to worlds, thoughts, and places we might never otherwise see. For so many of the youth we have reached over the years, their neighborhoods might be as far as they travel. The stories we share connect them with forests and mountains, with New York and Newfoundland, and with new concepts and ideas they haven’t yet imagined.

At Words Alive, for more than 20 years, books have been connecting us to those who need it most.  In the earliest days of Words Alive’s Adolescent Book Group, long before we had metrics and evaluations proving our impact, we wondered if our discussions held value for the students and their teachers. At the end of an early session at our first school, one of the students, a pregnant and homeless 9th grader, snapped her book shut and announced, “Well, that is the first book I ever finished.” That is when we knew we were on the right track.

In the ensuing years, our reach expanded exponentially. We built effective programs, leveraged our knowledge, and broadened our footprint. As of early March 2020, we were serving more than 5,000 students a month in classrooms in San Diego and Orange counties.

Now, merely weeks after the emergence of COVID-19, students, teachers, and families in all 50 states - and even some countries around the world - have come to rely on Words Alive’s ability to help them open opportunities to life success by inspiring a commitment to reading.  In that time period, more than 12,000 people have come to Words Alive for resources and support to help children and teens cope with, navigate, and eventually recover from this tragic upending of their young lives.

Our initial vision, one that was articulated at our first planning meeting more than two decades ago, was that we would create resources that would help a teacher in a small classroom in the middle of our country show her students how to connect to stories. Now, that is happening, over and over, each and every day. It is happening in the virtual classroom of the first-grade teacher in Boston who has embedded our daily story time into her curriculum. It is happening in Las Vegas where an elementary special education teacher is integrating our content into her co-teachers’ virtual classrooms to motivate students and complement district-issued packets. The list goes on and on.

Next Tuesday, May 5, is Giving Tuesday Now, a new global day of giving as an emergency response to COVID-19. You will, no doubt, receive many requests from worthy causes.  When it is time for you to determine your gifts, we hope you will take a moment to think about how and where books connect you. We hope you will join us, and the teacher in Boston, and the teenager about to complete her first book, in building a stronger community of readers.

To invest in Words Alive and our future readers, please click here to donate today.

Thank you for your interest, involvement, and support.

Stay safe. Stay healthy.

Leslye Winkelman Lyons

Words Alive Founder, Board Member Emeritus

Books Connect Us: An Introductory Guide!

As the effects of COVID-19 continue to evolve, we are wishing good health and peace to the greater Words Alive and San Diego community!  And as we continue to navigate this situation, we are writing to share free and engaging resources to continue connecting children, teens and families to the power of reading! 

Please use and share these ideas as ways to support learning, healing, and a sense of connection among your families, students, and communities! 

Visit our Books Connect Us page at www.wordsalive.org/booksconnectus, and check back often as new content is added daily. 

Here's a sneak peak: 

• #QuaranTEENS: Where you'll find: 

  • Activities and writing prompts helping teens process and cope with impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as response poetry and 6-word memoirs. Fun challenges for teens on TikTok, live author talks, and virtual book discussions are coming soon! 

  • Collection of videos from YA authors and illustrators with insights into their experiences as writers and creators. 

• Story Station: Where you'll find:

  • A growing collection of ready videos of wonderful stories read by both authors and Words Alive guest readers, many with links to ideas for extended activities that families can do together at home. Stories in Spanish are coming soon! 

  • Short videos for parents and caregivers about strategies they can use to help children connect with books and stories at home. 

  • Storytime on Facebook Live!: Join us every weekday at 2pm PST for a new, interactive storytime. Our first two have seen over 1,500 views and were a blast! Find us on Facebook at @WordsAliveSD. Please share with families, on social media, and with fellow educators.

From everyone at Words Alive, stay safe, be well, and we'll see you soon. 

Our Community Needs Books

Words Alive is committed to providing books to children in our community. Right now, the need is greater than ever.

Words Alive is collaborating with the Neighborhood House Association to provide book donations to families who are picking up food at meal distribution sites across San Diego. Words Alive is doing everything we can to get every single book we have out into the community in the next few weeks, and the books collected in recent book drives will help us do this. This means that we need your help to replenish our book shelves!

You can help by getting a jump start on your Spring cleaning and going through your home library looking for used children’s and young adult books to donate. There are four types of books that Words Alive cannot accept: religious books, adult books, reference / text books, or damaged books. Once you’re ready to donate your books, email a picture of your donation (or a “shelfie” as we like to call it!) to [email protected]. We’ll coordinate a time for you to come drop off your donation at our warehouse.

If you’re unable to leave your house, don’t worry! You can do a virtual book drive from your house. Our Amazon Wishlist is full of titles we will use in our programs, and the books ship directly to the Words Alive office. You can help and invite friends to participate also!

Reading is an escape from reality, and now, more than ever, we are going to provide that necessary escape for our community. Join us!

How to Access Books Without Leaving Home!

We know that reading provides an incredible, and sometimes necessary, escape from reality. Now, as we navigate this unprecedented situation to keep all members of our society safe, we have resources to help the Words Alive community to find comfort in reading.  

Thanks to a number of amazing resources, you don’t have to leave your home to access books! You can use this new technology to download books and volunteer for Words Alive from the comfort of your own home. Words Alive Page Turners help us read and review books to use in our programs. Simply sign up for a book here and when you’re done review the book using this form! 

Here’s a few ideas for where to get books with a few simple clicks. 

Libby 

Libby is a public library app and allows you to borrow from a collection of thousands of ebooks and audiobooks right from your phone, all while supporting your local library! 

Here’s how to use it: 

• Open your App Store and search for Libby. Download the app. 

• The app will prompt you to answer the question: do you have a library card? Choose Yes or Not Yet and follow the prompts. 

• Search for books! You can download e-books or audiobooks directly to your phone. 

 Scribd

Scribd is an app where you can access thousands of the best books, audiobooks, and more. All in one app. Due to the current situation, Sribd is making their entire library available to anyone, for free, for 30 days.

Here’s how to use it:

• Open your App Store and search for Scribd. Download the app. Sign up.

• You can also go directly to scribd.com and sign up there!

Audible 

Audible is Amazon’s audiobook company and they are home to an unmatched selection of audiobooks. 

Here’s how to use it: 

1. Open your App Store and search for Audible. Download the app. 

1. Sign Up.  

1. On your computer, go to www.audible.com. Browse and purchase an audiobook.  

1. After purchasing, the book will appear in the Audible app on your phone and you can download it directly. 

1. Start listening! 

Happy reading and stay safe!