City Heights CDC

The Words Alive Reader: September 9, 2020

Newsletter Header.png

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!

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.

- Eli and Titiksha, Words Alive Volunteers

Back to School!

A young girl smiles and holds a backpack. Text above the photo reads, “Reagan got her Words Alive backpack! She is so excited!”

A young girl smiles and holds a backpack. Text above the photo reads, “Reagan got her Words Alive backpack! She is so excited!”

As schools begin to re-open, we want to remind you that Words Alive is here to help! Even through unprecedented challenges, we were able to serve 3,280 students and families last school year, and we will continue to do so while adapting our programming into virtual or hybrid models. 

One of our core values is responsiveness. We are dedicated to listening to community needs and developing innovative solutions. Would you like to help us as we journey into new adventures this school year? Sign up for one of our Virtual Best Practices Trainings to learn all the skills you need to volunteer in remote classrooms!

New Story Station Conductors!

Pictures of Sandy, Jim, and Gina reading aloud on Story Station!

Pictures of Sandy, Jim, and Gina reading aloud on Story Station!

We've been hosting Words Alive Story Station on Facebook Live every week day since the pandemic hit to spread joy, and engage our little learners with fun and inspiring stories that the whole family can enjoy. Now, we're happy to welcome new Story Station Conductors to our team!

Volunteers Sandy, Jim, and Gina are positive reading role models to the 10,000+ kids, families, and classrooms that viewed their Story Station videos in just their first week as Conductors. Join us for Story Station at 2 p.m. PT every weekday on Facebook Live: @WordsAliveSD.

Creative Collaborations!

A screenshot from of one of our Zoom trainings!

A screenshot from of one of our Zoom trainings!

By the end of September, we will have trained seven community organizations to deliver the three Words Alive core programs! By providing training, curriculum, books, and supplies, we're making sure that organizations like United Way of San DiegoCity Heights CDCProject Concern InternationalGroundwork San DiegoOceanside Public Library, and more are able to connect 300 students in their communities to the power of reading.

Another one of our values is collaboration and in these extraordinary times, we need to support one another more than ever. Help support our efforts to train even more organizations by donating today

The Life Cycle of a Page Turners Book

An infographic that displays the life cycle of a Page Turners book: from UNKNOWN to UPLIFTING. (1) a stack of books with a question mark; (2) a girl reading (3) a girl typing at her laptop (4) a girl hugging a stack of books.

An infographic that displays the life cycle of a Page Turners book: from UNKNOWN to UPLIFTING. (1) a stack of books with a question mark; (2) a girl reading (3) a girl typing at her laptop (4) a girl hugging a stack of books.

Since January, our volunteer-led, ever-growing Page Turners community has helped us identify a whopping 28 books that reflect our students' lived experiences to include in Words Alive programming. How does it work?

  1. A new and promising book is brought to our attention.

  2. Page Turners read and let us know if it's a good fit for our students.

  3. Books that receive multiple glowing reviews are passed on to our Curriculum Crew, volunteers who produce high-quality curriculum guides for the book.

  4. Curriculum is taught in partner schools and sites, introducing students to empowering, entertaining, and engaging books that they can relate to, igniting their love of reading and setting them up for success!

Want to join the Page Turners community? Sign up here

 

The Words Alive Reader: August 26, 2020

Newsletter Header.png

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!

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 us to learn more.

- Eli and Titiksha, Words Alive Volunteers

Help Us Give Learning Kits to Children & Families!

A woman holds up a backpack in front of a young child.

A woman holds up a backpack in front of a young child.

“Miss Ana is giving me books to learn.”  An 8-year-old participating in Words Alive programs through our partnership with  City Heights CDC and United Way of San Diego scribbled that short, powerful message in their journal. 

Distance learning is providing challenges for teachers, parents, and students in different ways. Before the pandemic, 94% of public school teachers spent their own money on classroom supplies and now, some children are at home attempting to learn with few to no books or supplies around them.

Words Alive is here to help students, parents, and teachers all at the same time! Our Learning Kits are stocked with the tools students need to succeed: pens and pencils, stationary, scissors, and, of course, brand-new books. It takes just $125 to fund one Learning Kit for a child. If you’d like to help level the playing field for a child, donate here!

More Than 200 Page Turners?!

275 book reviews, 1141 hours volunteered, 28 new books added to curriculum, 229 Page Turners, and 177 reviews in progress!

275 book reviews, 1141 hours volunteered, 28 new books added to curriculum, 229 Page Turners, and 177 reviews in progress!

We launched Page Turners last fall so that our Words Alive community could help us find new, diverse books to read with our students. Since then, over 200 volunteers have joined Page Turners, allowing us to add 28 new books to our programming!

Are you interested in joining a community of passionate readers who are helping us read and review titles? Click here to sign up to read a book!

We Could Use Your Help!

Dozens of cardboard boxes with the Words Alive logo.

Dozens of cardboard boxes with the Words Alive logo.

To meet the changing needs of children, teens, and families because of the pandemic, we are looking for some specific (donated) expertise and thought you might be able to help:

  1. Individuals interested in mentoring first-generation college students for the upcoming school year. In addition to general interests, to help meet needs of specific Scholars we're also seeking professionals with work experience in graphic design, the criminal justice system, or based in Portland, OR. 

  2. Pro-bono services from legal and public relations firms

  3. App developers or website designers

  4. Large, vacant storage unit (or garage) on the ground floor where we can accept, sort, and redistribute book donations safely on an ongoing basis 

If you, or someone you know, is able to volunteer or donate in any of these ways let us know!

Join our Mission Marketplace!

A hand holding a heart filled with books above the words “Support small businesses!”

A hand holding a heart filled with books above the words “Support small businesses!”

We know that, now more than ever, it's essential to support the small business owners in our community. If you own a business, restaurant, or even an Etsy store you can team up with Words Alive for our Mission Marketplace! We will promote your business throughout the month of October (or another timeframe that works for you!) in exchange for a portion of proceeds being donated to Words Alive in support of our mission. Win-win!

If you'd like to learn more about the Mission Marketplace, email us here!