The Words Alive Reader: February 10, 2022

Welcome to the Words Alive Reader, our 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!​​​​​​​

Welcome Families!

This week we welcome 292 families, and their 364 children, to Let's Read with Words Alive, our family literacy program!  

Each week families participate in a 45-minute virtual session, in English or Spanish, reading a story and completing a craft together. Between sessions for the next six weeks, parents will receive SMS-based support from volunteers to encourage at-home reading with their new books.

Teachers at Harriet Tubman Village Charter School sharing Let's Read with Words Alive books.

Through this wave, we are excited to offer parallel tracks for families with preschoolers and those with school-age students (TK-2) through partnerships with:

• Diamond Educational Excellence Partnership

• Edison Elementary

• Freese Elementary

• Harriet Tubman Village Charter School

• Neighborhood House Association

• Rolando Park Elementary

We are deeply grateful to the Dr. Seuss Foundation and Conrad Prebys Foundation for their leadership in helping us transform our family programming this year!

Thank you S. Mark Taper Foundation!

We are so grateful to the S. Mark Taper Foundation for making an incredible $35,000 investment in Words Alive!

The S. Mark Taper Foundation, founded in 1989, is a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of people’s lives by supporting nonprofit organizations and their work in our communities.

Unrestricted support, like this, enables us to invest in our incredible staff, develop new connections with community agencies, and build our capacity to reach more children, teens, and families. Thank you, S. Mark Taper Foundation!

Welcome Board Members!

Please join us in welcoming Meredith Baratz and Laura Galinson to the Words Alive Board of Directors! 

We look forward to their wealth of expertise and leadership to foster Words Alive's growth. You can learn more about Meredith and Laura, as well as the rest of our Board members, here.

If you're interested in serving on our Board of Directors or supporting one of our many committees providing professional guidance to the organization, please reach out to Rachael Orose to start a conversation.

Read Aloud Volunteers Needed

Help children learn to become a reader by volunteering today!

Each week, teachers and principals ask how Words Alive volunteers might read aloud with their students. If you are excited about reading remarkable stories aloud with classrooms of children (TK-3rd grade) and can commit to read for one hour a week through May, we have a spot for you!

We have virtual and in-person openings for readers at schools in central and southeast San Diego. 

Our best Read Aloud volunteers are excited, engaging, and love sharing stories.  No prior experience is necessary! Volunteers bilingual in Spanish and English are in high demand. 

We host weekly, virtual volunteer orientations where you can learn more. You can also email us for more details.

This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by us, a cohort of staff and 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.

The Words Alive Reader: January 12, 2022

Happy New Year and welcome to the Words Alive Reader, our 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!​​​​​​​

We Need Your Help

We have an incredible opportunity to connect thousands of readers to Words Alive: Christopher Weil & Company, Inc. is matching the next $5,000 donated to support Words Alive in the Champions for Youth competition! 

Your gift will reach twice as many children and bring us closer to our $60,000 goal before the January 30 deadline.

​​​​​​​Every gift counts! Even if you're a regular donor to Words Alive, a simple $10 gift made on this link can help.

Through the Champions for Youth competition, Words Alive earns bonus funds from the Century Club of San Diego and Farmers Insurance based on how we rank, against five other charities, in two categories: number of donors and funds raised. Thanks to Christopher Weil & Company, Inc.'s match, your gift today will propel us forward in both categories. 

 A very special thanks to the William Gumpert Foundation and the S. Bernstein Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation for matching earlier gifts to the campaign, enabling us to reach the first 75% of our $60,000 goal.

Volunteers Compile Hundreds of Learning Kits from Home

Debbie Wappler, volunteer, stands with hundreds of Learning Kits she, her family, and colleagues created.

During the holidays, Debbie Wappler mobilized her family and colleagues at Commonwealth Financial to compile 700+ Learning Kits for children and families participating in this spring's "Let's Read with Words Alive" family literacy program.

Debbie set up assembly lines at her home and office to compile take-home bags for families reading two titles, Penguinaut! and Giraffes Can't Dance.

Learning Kits include tips for families, a copy of a book, and a simple craft activity related to each title. Since the new COVID variant is limiting our ability to compile kits at our office, we're looking for volunteers, like Debbie, interested in organizing family, neighbors, or colleagues to help compile the remaining Learning Kits at your home or office for our spring sessions.

Our Program Coordinator, Murphy Hernandez, can help you get started. He can be reached at [email protected] or 858-274-9673.

Welcome New Team Members

We are thrilled to welcome amazing new team members to Words Alive.

Jenn Belgarde joins Words Alive as our Young Adult Program Manager, leading our signature programs for youth ages 12-24. 

Kristi Stoza joins Words Alive as our Engagement Coordinator, playing a key role in mobilizing volunteers and engaging donors. 

Read about Jenn and Kristi on our blog.

We are also thrilled to welcome Julie Chen, a student at UCSD and our new Page Turners intern. Know someone interested in learning more about working with nonprofits? We are currently recruiting for spring and summer volunteer interns. Details here.

Volunteer Opportunities Available

Help young children learn to become a reader by volunteering today!

New in 2022, we're thrilled to expand our programming at many school sites throughout San Diego - reaching more classrooms and more ages. 

For example, at Rolando Park Elementary, a new partner in 2022, our volunteers are starting the new year both reading aloud to elementary students and leading family literacy workshops.

This is creating many new, engaging volunteer opportunities both virtually and in-person. To learn about ways you might be able to help, we host weekly volunteer orientations. Click here to find the virtual orientation schedule and more details. 

This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by us, a cohort of staff and 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.

The Words Alive Reader: December 14, 2021

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!

On Track to Reach 100,000 Touchpoints

Maliyah proudly sharing her rocketship she created after reading "Penguinaut!" by Marcie Colleen in our Family Literacy Program.

"I never knew you could incorporate play into reading, it just never occurred to me.  But, it's a wonderful strategy and I see the difference in my daughter's learning when this technique is used!  [It is] so much more complete and extensive. She will talk about a story for days now!"

 - Danielle, about her daughter Maliyah participating in our Family Literacy Program

By helping Danielle, and hundreds of parents each year, nurture the power of reading through play, we increase their awareness of how they can support their children on the path to become life-long learners.  We are proudly on track to provide 100,00 similar touchpoints this school year with parents and students across San Diego!

Calling All Volunteers

Have you been looking for a chance to volunteer with students and families? Now's your chance!

Beginning in January, we will be starting new sessions (virtually and in-person) with nearly 1,000 students across San Diego!  Opportunities to help include working with:

• Teens: 4-6 volunteers explore books with a classroom of students through discussion, creative writing, and activities every other week.

• Children (TK-3rd): Volunteers are matched with a classroom to read aloud weekly.

• Families: 2-3 volunteers guide a cohort of families through stories and craft activities once a week in this 6-week workshop series.

No previous classroom experience needed - just a love of reading and working with children, teens, and families! We provide robust training, resources, and support to help you succeed. Email [email protected] or call 858-274-9673 to learn more or sign up for a training.

$10 Could Unlock Thousands

Words Alive is one of only 6 San Diego youth charities to participate in Champions for Youth, a fundraising competition administered by The Century Club of San Diego.  The organization with the most donors that make a gift between now and January 30 could earn a prize of more than $35,000!

Your donation of $10 (or more) could be the one that puts Words Alive over the top and earns tens of thousands of bonus for the children, teens, and families we serve. You can help by making a $10 gift today.

Other Ways to Give

There are many ways to give to Words Alive this holiday season!

 1) Find our wishlist here.  You can purchase books and school supplies that we critically need for our programming. 

 2) When you shop these businesses, they donate a portion of their sales to Words Alive. 

 3) We accept all types of gifts including stock/securities, IRA rollovers and conversions, legacy gifts, donor advised fund gifts, and more. Click here for details.

This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by us, a cohort of staff and 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.

The Words Alive Reader: November 4, 2021

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!

We’re Back in School!

Image of book given out to Read Aloud students and craft puppets created to help students retell the story.

In October, Read Aloud volunteers kicked off the school year in an epic way!  Volunteers read We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins with 1,530 elementary students across 51 virtual and in-person classrooms. Every student received a book to keep, a clothespin-puppet craft activity, and family discussion guide (available in 8 languages) to bring the joy of reading home. 

One teacher from Burbank Elementary shared:

"My students were so excited to get a new book...I heard from the families that their children use the puppets to retell the story [at home].  We are so fortunate to count on you to provide excellent literacy content. Our reader, Mrs. Hopkins, is amazing.  She connects with the students really well." 

We are building a love of reading and home libraries thanks to the remarkable and collaborative investments from donors and volunteers. If you'd like to help us reach more students, click here to become a monthly donor or email us so we can help you find your on-ramp.

North County Philanthropy Council Volunteer of the Year: Jim McIlhon

Graphic congratulating Mr. Jim McIlhon on being honored as a 2021 Volunteer of the Year

Words Alive is proud to celebrate James "Mr. Jim" McIlhon as a Volunteer of the Year at the North County Philanthropy Council's 2021 Volunteer Awards Celebration, held Friday, November 5. You may recognize Mr. Jim from Facebook Live, where his Story Station videos exploring books and modeling read aloud best practices have been viewed more than 250,000 times!  Learn more about Mr. Jim here.

More than 1,600 passionate volunteers help us bring words alive for children, teens, and families. Click to find opportunities to volunteer.

Thank You to The Conrad Prebys Foundation!

Child doing a craft project while following along with virtual Family Literacy Program

Words Alive is thrilled to announce an extraordinary $80,000 investment from The Conrad Prebys Foundation to grow our programming for families. Through our Family Literacy Program, hundreds of families explore early literacy and language development while connecting reading with play. 

This gift allows us to hire our first dedicated staff to the program at a time when supporting family learning is most critical. You can learn more about this extraordinary investment from The Conrad Prebys Foundation here.

Author’s Luncheon & Fundraiser Postponed

Attendees at a past Author’s Luncheon sitting around a table.

We've decided to move our annual Author's Luncheon and Fundraiser to Spring 2022. We're hoping to welcome you to an in-person event celebrating the resilience and passion of our community throughout the pandemic. Date and details are forthcoming.

For a limited time, you can watch last year's virtual event with Ayad Akhtar, discussing his novel Homeland Elegies, for free here. 

Interested in supporting our Author's Luncheon & Fundraiser? We'd love to connect.

Welcome New Staff

Image of two new staff members - Faryl Kander, Family Program Manager; Murphy Hernandez, Program Coordinator

Please join us in welcoming two new staff members to our organization, Dr. Faryl Kander, Family Program Manager, and Murphy Hernandez, Program Coordinator! We're excited about the unique skills and experiences they bring to Words Alive. 

 The demand for our programming continues to soar amidst this time of post-traumatic growth. Find staff and intern positions and volunteer opportunities on our website.

Stay Connected

Graphic saying “Follow Us” @WordsAliveSd

Follow us on social media for daily updates about how our Words Alive community makes a difference in the lives of children, teens, and families.

Follow @WordsAliveSD on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

You'll find examples of Words Alive "In The News" on our website as well.

This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by us, a cohort of staff and 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.

The Words Alive Reader: September 13, 2021

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!

A Year of Resilience, Repair, and Joy!

Two children reading stories, smiling

Words Alive is determined to deliver hope, joy, and a sense of community to children, teens, and families, in the coming school year. Hear from Words Alive's Program Director, Amanda Bonds, more about how we are aiming to create 100,000 meaningful moments of connection to the power of reading this year.

6,548 Hours of Amazing Volunteer Support

Here at Words Alive, accomplishment of our mission would not be possible without our dedicated volunteers, who are truly the backbone of this organization. Between January and June of this year, our incredible volunteers contributed over 6,548 hours of service which equates to an estimated value of $220,086! Each and every volunteer is essential to our cause. If you’d like to join us, click here.

A Words Alive volunteer holding two books

Thank You Nordson Corporation!

Students carrying young adult novels

Words Alive sincerely thanks Nordson, our long-standing philanthropic partner for over 10 years of support. We are excited to announce that Nordson is now a service partner too! Nordson employees participated in Page Turners, reading and reviewing new books for our curriculum pipelines. Volunteers contributed over 112 hours of service by reading over 7,300 pages and completed 38 book reviews for titles like Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix, The Awakening of Malcolm X, and Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen. We're so grateful to Nordson and look forward to continued partnership. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Statement

Two young children reading together

Words Alive strives to build more inclusive and equitable communities through providing quality, shared reading experiences for children, teens, and families. In May 2021, our Board of Directors renewed our commitment for the same which led to the creation of our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Statement.​​​​​​​ Click here to read the full statement and learn more about this commitment.

Welcome New Board Members

Please join us in welcoming two new Board members to our organization, Nick Giordano and Rosemary McDonell-Horita! Nick brings experience in public accounting and finance and this makes him a tremendous addition to help guide our organization's fiscal health. Rosemary's background in advocacy, empowerment, and education adds wonderful perspective to guide our organization's programming. We are thrilled to welcome Nick and Rosemary to our Board of Directors!

A graphic that says “Welcome New Board Members” and has pictures of Nick Giordano and Rosemary McDonnell-Horita

New Words Alive Store

We have a new online store! Find youth and adult shirts, including a newly released 2021-2022 t-shirt with the motto "Plant the read and watch it grow!" designed by one of our volunteers, Evan Cartwright. All proceeds benefit Words Alive!

Join Us

​​​​​​​Words Alive is growing! We are thrilled to welcome new team members, including offering meaningful internships providing hands-on experience working with an outstanding team. Click here to learn more.

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.

- Words Alive Storytelling Team

The Words Alive Reader: June 16, 2021

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!

Looking Forward to a Summer of Learning & Joy

A smilingn child sitting at a desk.

The school year may be over, but we’re not stopping for the summer! We’re looking forward to celebrating a Summer of Learning and Joy with Barrio Logan College Institute, The Karen Organization, Diamond Education Excellence Partnership, and the Boys & Girls Club of Vista as they implement our Read Aloud, Adolescent Book Group, and Family Literacy programming over the summer. 

You can support our summer programming by purchasing supplies that will go directly to families on our Amazon Wishlist!

Art & Lit: Concentric Community

After more than a year of social distancing, we need each other more than ever. That’s why this year’s Art & Lit project intentionally brings the community together through a collaborative project that connects us all to the power of reading, writing, art — and one another. 

You have less than a month to make sure that your unique art is a part of our exhibit this year. Anyone can participate! Create your own Identity Circle, developed in partnership with ArtReach San Diego, and learn more about your community while you’re at it. Find the instructions for the project here. 

A colorful collection of completed Identity Circles.

16,500 Books Gifted to Students in San Diego

Volunteers wearing masks help box and sort hundreds of books.

Thanks to the San Diego Council on Literacy and a huge collaboration between The Arc of San Diego, San Diego County Library, San Diego Registrar of Voters, The Molina Foundation, an incredible team of volunteers, and Words Alive, we were able to sort, box, and distribute 16,500 books to 12 different community organizations last month! That's 16,500 brand-new, incredible books going into the hands of students across San Diego. What a wonderful time to be a reader!

Learn more about the book giveaway in the San Diego Council on Literacy's Voice of Literacy newsletter here. 

We're Hiring!

A graphic that says “Words Alive is Hiring a Business Operations Coordinator!”

Words Alive is hiring! We're looking for a part-time team member, based in San Diego, to coordinate our accounting/bookkeeping, payroll and benefits, human resources, and office management so that we can best support a phenomenal staff working to connect everyone to the power of reading.

Are you (or someone you know) passionate about reading and looking for a part-time gig? Learn more here.

Support Words Alive While Reading the News

For the rest of the year, supporting Words Alive will be as easy as, well, reading the news. For $8 a month, you can get an all-access digital subscription to the San Diego Union-Tribune, including a digital replica of the newspaper, completely ad-free!

The best part? For every subscription sold, Words Alive will receive $25 in support of our programs. A portion of the subscription cost will also support literacy efforts in our region coordinated by the San Diego Council on Literacy!

Get your subscription today.

A graphic that says “Shop to Support"!” above the San Diego Union-Tribune logo.

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, and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team

The Words Alive Reader: April 19, 2021

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!

13-Year-Old Aden Raises More Than $1,200 for Words Alive

A picture of Aden reading a book.

"I want to make sure others can enjoy the pleasure of reading without barriers standing in their way." — Aden

Words Alive would like to thank Aden for hosting a readathon with three of her friends to raise money for us, all the way from Washington, D.C.! As part of her Bat Mitzvah project, she has already raised over $1,200 to support our mission—more than double her initial $500 goal. Aden and her friends have already documented 3,369 minutes read. We are so inspired by her example and grateful for her support. Learn more about the project and help Aden reach her new $1,500 goal here!

Family Literacy Program with DEEP

A screenshot from one of our Family Literacy Program sessions.

We were excited to welcome 40 children (from 29 families) to the latest wave of our Family Literacy Program! Thanks to Diamond Educational Excellence Partnership (DEEP) and our dedicated volunteers, we shared six weeks of early literacy programming in Spanish and English with parents and their preschool age kids. We had a blast reading, singing, and doing crafts together, and are looking forward to many more Family Literacy Program sessions in the future. In the meantime, if you’re looking for literacy resources for the little ones in your life, visit our website!

Highlighting Asian American and Pacific Islander Stories

A graphic with a collage of some of the AAPI authors we featured and their books.

We know that authentic, diverse representation in the stories we read is a powerful way to combat hatred and build community. We use our social media platforms (@WordsAliveSD) to spotlight authors who represent the lived experiences of the children, teens, and families we serve.

Recently we've been proud to share the voices of authors from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, such as Jenny Han, Kelly Yang, Randy Ribay, and more. For our latest blog post, we've compiled these spotlights as a resource to help all of us diversify the books we're reading. Check it out here!

Thank You, UCSD!

Three volunteers from UCSD jump for joy in front of a van packed with learning kit supplies.

Thank you to the dozens of UC San Diego students who took time out of their spring break to assemble learning kits with craft supplies, books and reading activities for us!  Learning Kits are stocked with the tools students need to succeed: pens and pencils, stationery, scissors, and, of course, new books. If you’d like to help, check out our Amazon wishlist to help us provide even more learning kits to students and families.

Join Us This Thursday For Our Volunteer Appreciation Celebration

A graphic that says “You’re Invited! Words Alive’s 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, Presented by EY.” In the bottom half, it says “Thursday, April 22 at 4PM PT. Sign up to join us for an optional breakout session to participate in the 2021 Art & Lit project!”

We want to celebrate you! You are invited to Words Alive's 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, presented by EY. The event takes place this week on Thursday, April 22nd at 4 pm PT.

Join us as we reflect on a year of incredible contributions from volunteers all across San Diego, the United States, and the world! ​​​​​​​During the hour-long event, join us as we present service awards to distinguished volunteers in our community and hear from organization and community leaders about the impact we made over the past year. There will also be a sneak-preview of our 2021 Art & Lit Experience.

Meet Fellow Volunteers at the Welcome Wagon

All aboard the Welcome Wagon! New to Words Alive or looking to meet other volunteers? Want to know what teams like the Curriculum Crew and Social Media Squad have been up to recently?

Come to this monthly event to meet new and veteran volunteers, learn more about each team and the projects they work on, and have fun! The next Welcome Wagon is leaving the station on Thursday, April 29th at 3pm PT.

Text that reads “MEET FELLOW VOLUNTEERS AT THE WORDS ALIVE WELCOME WAGON: Thursday, April 29th at 3 pm PT” over a floral blue, orange, and pink background.

Donate here to support Words Alive!

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

Investing In Early Childhood Development

Words Alive is working alongside some great organizations to support early education in San Diego, such as the Education Synergy Alliance P-3 Salon and the Diamond Education Excellence Partnership. Words Alive brings our expertise in early literacy to the table offering Family Literacy programming as part of community solutions. Early childhood education lays the groundwork for success in Elementary School and beyond.

“A critical time to shape productivity is from birth to age five, when the brain develops rapidly to build the foundation of cognitive and character skills necessary for success in school, health, career and life.” 

Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics and expert in economics of human development, argues that

it also pays to invest in a child’s early years.  The Heckman Equation shows for every dollar invested in early childhood education there is a “7%-10% per year return, based on increased school and career achievement as well as reduced costs in remedial education, healthy and criminal justice expenditures” for early childhood education.

During a recent visit to Dewey Child Development Center to join the celebration of families graduating from the Words Alive Family Literacy Program, I was struck by the story of a mother’s resilience and the role she felt Words Alive played in helping to empower her to be her child’s first and most important teacher. Maria has 2 children, Max age 4 and Camila, age 7. Maria shared that growing up and attending school in Mexico, reading was a challenge because she did not have books or the support that she needed to make reading accessible; “My parents never read to me, my mother never came to my school.” Asking what influence the program had on reading habits with her children, she continued “one of the most important things I learned is that reading isn’t just about the words on the pages, it is about colors, the pictures, rhyming, and the themes in the book." Maria said that both of her children are more engaged in reading now because she knows how to make it a fun part of their routine.

Maria and her children were just one of seventy families graduating from the 7-week Family Literacy program in March armed with new knowledge, a kindergarten readiness tool kit, and a commitment to continue to make reading matter for their children.

Programs like Family Literacy and the wide variety of early childhood programs throughout San Diego will give these families and children a level playing field, a better start to their school career, and an increased opportunity for high school graduation – all of which will lead to a boost in our economy. By one projection,

“A 5% increase in male high school graduation rates is estimated to save California $753 million in annual incarceration costs and crime-related expenditures. If that same 5% not only graduated but went on to college at the same rate as typical male high school graduates, their average earnings would accrue an additional $352 million annually.”

If a collaborative effort is made to provide access and empower families with young children we at Words Alive and other organizations working together can make a huge impact on our community. At Words Alive we believe that Literacy is the foundation of community and economic development. When everyone can read, whole communities thrive.