Celebrate International Literacy Day by Bringing the Power of Reading to San Diego Students and Families!

Blog Post Written by Ben Hollingshead, Words Alive Volunteer

Since the first International Literacy Day celebrations on September 8th, 1967, the global literacy rate has doubled to 86% in 2023. Despite this remarkable progress, 763 million young people and adults globally still lacked basic literacy skills in 2020, a number only exacerbated by the COVID crisis. Closer to home, 46% of 3rd graders in the San Diego Unified School District currently do not meet the standard for language arts. Now more than ever, it is vital that our San Diego community comes together to ensure all children have access to the benefits of being a reader. You have the power to make this happen, and there is no better time to start than on International Literacy Day 2023. 

From September 7th through the 8th, 2023, Words Alive will be celebrating International Literacy by participating in San Diego Gives, a year-round program that shines the light on local pressing needs. There are two opportunities for you to get involved: in an online Day of Giving on September 7th, 2023, and an in-person Day of Service on September 8th, 2023. 

We would love for you to join us on Friday, September 8th, at 9:30 a.m. at our office. In partnership withUnited Way of San Diego, we will be assembling learning kits. These kits typically include new books, school supplies, and a craft or activity thematically tied to the books that deepen student connection to reading. Words Alive volunteers will use these learning kits in the Read Aloud Program, Family Literacy Program, and Adolescent Book Group. You do not need any specific skills for this activity, just enthusiasm! Please sign up at this link!

You can also support our mission by donating to Words Alive through San Diego Gives. On Thursday, September 7th, San Diego Gives will host a 24-hour online event to support local nonprofits. You can donate via credit card, PayPal, Venmo, or your donor-advised fund. Your generosity would give underserved students and their families access to books and, even more importantly, access to skills that will allow them to use reading as a tool to expand their world. You can give to Words Alive at this link!

Words Alive always seeks enthusiastic volunteers to support literacy efforts throughout the year. Once you attend one of our volunteer orientations, you can participate in various exciting efforts, from Adolescent Book Group Volunteer Facilitator to Book Sorting and Delivery.  If you are looking to commit to the mission of literacy beyond September 8th, please look at the full list of our volunteer opportunities here.

Thank you for joining Words Alive in our mission to connect children, teens, and families to the power of reading on this upcoming International Literacy Day. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Donor Engagement Manager, Tracy Dahlkamp, at [email protected].

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references

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/literacy-rate-by-country

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/literacy#:~:text=Since%201967%2C%20International%20Literacy%20Day,more%20literate%20and%20sustainable%20society

https://www.literacysandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/State-of-Literacy-in-San-Diego-County.pdf

Celebrate International Literacy Day by Bringing Literacy to San Diego Students and Families!

by: Alyssa Broda, Words Alive Engagement Director

Mateo with his copy of Rita and Ralph’s Rotten Day, and his flower crown craft.

International Literacy Day is this Thursday, September 8 and Words Alive will be celebrating by gearing up to bring the power of reading to over 5,000 students this upcoming school year. It is more important than ever that our San Diego community comes together to ensure all children have access to the enrichment that comes with being a reader. You have the power to make that happen, and there is no better day to support reading than International Literacy Day.

Here is how you can support literacy in San Diego to celebrate:

Join us at the Words Alive office to pack learning kits on Thursday, September 8 at 3:00pm. To celebrate International Day of Literacy, we will be gearing up for our fall programming by assembling learning kits that will be used in our Read Aloud Program, Family Literacy Program and Adolescent Book Group starting October 3. These learning kits include new books, school supplies and a craft or activity thematically tied to the text that our students are able to keep, deepening their connection to reading. Sign up at this link!

Volunteers pack learning kits at the Words Alive office.

Support our mission by donating to Words Alive through San Diego Gives. On Thursday, September 8, the San Diego community is celebrating San Diego Gives, a 24-hour online event to support local nonprofits. Our goal of $1,000 would provide one classroom of students three brand new books. You can donate via credit card, PayPal, Venmo and your donor advised fund. Your generosity would give access to books that reflect the life experiences of the students we serve and shed light on new possibilities, expanding their worlds. You can give early at this link!

Sign up for other volunteer opportunities to support literacy throughout the year. If you are looking to commit to the mission of literacy beyond September 8, we have openings in all three of our programs for in-classroom volunteers. As we return to in-person programming, you can serve as a volunteer facilitator leading consistent sessions at our partner schools. If you are interested, you can sign up to attend one of our volunteer orientations. Our fall programming begins October 3!

Thank you for joining Words Alive in our mission to connect children, teens, and families to the power of reading on this upcoming International Literacy Day. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Engagement Director, Alyssa Broda, at [email protected].

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.

A Year of Resilience, Repair & Joy

A message from Words Alive’s Program Director, Amanda Bonds 

Words Alive is determined to deliver hope, joy, and a sense of community to children, teens, and families in the coming school year. With the help of extraordinary volunteers and remarkable philanthropists, we aim to create 100,000 meaningful moments of connection to the power of reading this year.

Why is this important right now? Experts predict the COVID-related learning loss we’ll see in schools this year is substantial. An escalating literacy crisis threatens more than 400,000 children across San Diego. 

Students need our support and resources, quickly, to build on the resilience they have demonstrated during the recent reimagined school year, and to work toward repair of our communities. They also need uplifting, joyous moments to add warmth and connection to what’s been a long, often lonely path since March 2020. 

When we see ourselves in the stories of struggle and success of others, we realize what we’re made of and what’s possible. When we are resilient, we are braver, more curious, more adaptable, and more able to extend our reach into the world—we can reflect on our resilience and its role in repairing our communities. This is our hope for each person who participates in our programs. 

Words Alive will bring people together to focus on connecting youth to stories of resilience and repair in the 2021-22 scholastic year. 

Informed by our courage to collaborate creatively and our commitment to what works, the titles we read this year will tell these stories, reigniting the joy children, teens, and families hold in their heart for learning along the way.  You’ll find us reading books such as:

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

• Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton

• Inky’s Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found his Way Home by Sy Montgomery

Throughout the year, we will track every touchpoint – each one of those meaningful mission moments – where we create a connection for a child, a teen, or a family to the power of reading. This might look like a book that goes home with a student, a view of our online Story Station videos, a text message from Words Alive received by a family, and more. These touchpoints will be delivered through our volunteer-facilitated core programs and inspired through our online resources and the books and learning kits we bring to our community. 

At Words Alive, we believe that everyone has something to give and to gain in the movement to make reading matter, and so we welcome your involvement on the journey to 100,000 touchpoints, whether you want to donate, volunteer, or just cheer us on. 

We are proud to come together as a community to strengthen our resilience, embolden our efforts at repair, and joyously celebrate the power of reading.

The Words Alive Reader: December 18th, 2020

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 our Volunteer Coordinator, Robyn, to learn more.

- Zoe, Eli and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team

Words Alive Alumni Give Back

A screenshot from a call with some of our Westreich Scholarship alumni! Lexi (top left) has connected us to the organization where she now works.

We are always thrilled about any opportunity to get books to students, but we're especially excited about our new partnership with SAY (Social Advocates for Youth) San Diego because we are working with one of our Westreich Scholarship alumni! Lexi graduated from San Diego State University last year and is now working as a case manager for this wonderful organization. We loved supporting Lexi through her college journey and we're honored to be able to partner with her now! Thanks to this connection, more than 500 kids will be receiving a new book this holiday season. 

Help us develop even more partnerships by purchasing supplies from our Amazon wishlist! Many of these items will go towards innovative programming at Monarch School, Lexi’s alma mater. 

Become a Champion for Youth

A graphic with text that reads “Become a Champion for Words Alive This Winter!” above the “Champions for Youth” logo.

Words Alive is constantly seeking new ways to inspire a love of reading and promote educational equity. Help us reach this goal by signing up to become a part of Words Alive's Champions For Youth campaign!

Champions for Youth is an exciting peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that runs from December through January. When you create a fundraising page, you can inspire your friends and family to invest in the joy of reading. Every $10 you help raise will enable us to provide a bedtime story to a child.

The best part? The funds you raise will be amplified by gifts from Farners Insurance and the Century Club of San Diego. Sign up for an information session here!

Thank You, EY Page Turners!

An infographic titled “EY and Page Turners By the Numbers.” The infographic includes the statistics: 275 book reviews; 28, 334 pages read for Page Turners; 51 titles reviewed including What Color is My World? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Come On In by Adi Alsaid, and Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales; 546 hours spent reading; 211 Page Turners; and “Want to learn more? Visit us at www.wordsalive.org/page-turners”

We’re excited to say that our partnership with EY has brought 211 new virtual volunteers into our Page Turners program from all across the country! Together, they’ve read more than 28,000 pages and written 275 book reviews to help us identify the best books for our curriculum.

And they've had a great time doing it! "We appreciate the opportunity to live our values by volunteering with you...Thank you for making it so easy for our people to give back during this unprecedented year," the EY Ripples team says. Thank you, EY, for helping us make a difference! 

If you’d like to join them as a Page Turner, visit our website to learn more.

Virtual Family Literacy Program with Oceanside Public Library

A young child draws with colored pencils in a notebook.

Recently, we partnered with the Oceanside Public Library to create a successful fully-remote version of our Family Literacy Program. Eleven families joined us for the virtual course, which pursued a bilingual approach to literacy.

Through books, crafts, and songs in both English and Spanish, families and their preschool children built key early literacy skills—and just as importantly, a love for reading! One of the participating families says their three-year-old is still talking about the program and even reads to his stuffed animals now. We love it!

If you'd like to help us inspire more families to read together, check out our volunteer opportunities here!

1,780 Brand New Books for Kids

A picture of our Executive Director, Rachael, with lots of boxes of donated books!

San Diego showed off the spirit of giving this week, as we received 1,780 books for kids and teens. We want to say a huge thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and the San Diego Council on Literacy for their generous donations, and hope you’ll consider joining them. Help us get even more books into kids' hands this holiday season by donating to our Champions for Youth campaign!

Stock Donations

A young child holds up a sign that says “I’m a Summer Super Reader!”

Donating stock to Words Alive is a meaningful investment in our life-changing literacy work! It's a simple process with many benefits:

1. You receive a charitable income-tax deduction for the full fair-market value of the stock at the time of the gift.*

2. You incur no capital gains tax on the increased value of the stock.*

Words Alive has an account at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Your gift must be postmarked by December 31 to qualify for a deduction in that tax year. A stockbroker or trust officer also can arrange for a year-end gift of stock from your account.
To learn more or to make a donation, click here!   

*subject to IRS deduction limits​​​​​​​

Donate here to support Words Alive!

The Words Alive Reader: November 16th, 2020

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.

- Zoe, Eli and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team

Processing the Election With the Power of Writing

Red, blue, and purple word bubbles made of paper spell “Be The Change.”

In our last edition of The Words Alive Reader, we shared about the launch of our virtual Read Aloud Program — we now have 33 classrooms participating! This week, we want to share something else we've been working hard on: Write Now, a digital space for teens to cope and connect with current events through writing.

As emotions run high over everything that's going on in our country right now, we're highlighting several of our Write Now prompts that feel especially fitting for this moment. Use them with your students or children, or try them for yourself. We hope that they empower everyone to reflect and respond in healthy ways to current events. 

Explore positive ways to respond to the news, remember to take a self-compassion news break, and, finally, think about ways to be the change you wish to see in the world.

2020 Authors Event & Fundraiser: Success!

Screenshots of Ayad Akhtar, Dr. Seth Lerer, and an image of Homeland Elegies. Text reads: “Annual Authors Event — Featuring Ayad Akhtar in conversation with Dr. Seth Lerer.”

With an entirely new, online format, this year's Annual Authors Event and Fundraiser was an adventure for all of us! We are grateful for everyone who came together to make this event a success.

More than 250 attendees joined us from all over the country, raising $77,000 to connect children, teens, and families to the power of reading. It brought us so much joy to see our community come together in this way.

If you missed the event, don't worry! You can still support us by purchasing access to the prerecorded conversation between Seth and Ayad through the end of 2020. Thank you for supporting Words Alive! 

Write Now with Susan Meissner

A picture of Susan Meissner in front of posters of her books.

Susan Meissner is an acclaimed author, a San Diego local, a Words Alive volunteer, AND one of the authors in this year's Authors Auction! At our latest Write Now workshop for teen writers, brought to you by Words Alive and the San Diego Public Library, she had plenty of advice for aspiring writers, especially when it comes to tackling the familiar enemy known as writers’ block. “It’s kind of like when you go into a pool, or the ocean, and the water is kind of cold, but stay in it, and your body finally acclimates,” she said. It’s all about persistence!

Find the full workshop, along with other exclusive videos from published authors, on our website!

Plot Twist: Logan Holland

A picture of Logan Holland.

Our volunteers come from all different kinds of backgrounds, proving that great books impact us all. Take Logan Holland, for example: a graduate student in biology at UC San Diego. The lessons she draws from her favorite books go hand-in-hand with her studies. As Logan puts it, “I wanted to understand humans biochemically, and then figuratively with literature.”

To read more about Logan’s unique perspective on the intersection of science and literature, and learn why she volunteers with Words Alive, check out Plot Twist, our new blog series! Keep an eye out for more stories in the future on the Words Alive blog.

Join the Words Alive Page Turners!

Graphic illustrating the “Life Cycle of a Page Turners Book.” Through Page Turners, new books are (1) discovered, (2) read, (3) reviewed, and (4) loved by our program participants!

We launched Page Turners in January so volunteers could help us choose the books we read with our students. Since then, more than 600 volunteers have joined Page Turners, contributing nearly 1,900 hours of service! This has allowed us to add 30 new books into our programming, with the knowledge that students will be engaging with high-quality titles our Page Turners have already read and loved. Some of our students at Monarch School are even reviewing books for Page Turners! Through this program, they're taking ownership of what they read in a very tangible way.

Are you interested in joining a community of passionate readers who are helping us read and review books? Visit our website to learn more.

Donate here to support Words Alive!

The Words Alive Reader: September 23, 2020

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.

- Zoe, Eli and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team

SNEAK PEEK: 2020 Annual Authors Event!

Text that reads: "Annual Authors Event: Featuring Ayad Akhtar in conversation with Dr. Seth Lerer” above a photo of Ayad and the cover of his book Homeland Elegies

We're so thrilled to announce the author for this year's (virtual) Authors Event & Fundraiser: Pulitzer Prize-winning author and playwright, Ayad Akhtar! 

Be on the lookout for an invitation—with links to a very special Authors Auction and Mission Marketplace—coming to your inbox very soon!

Books for Lindsay Community School

A woman holding up books stands next to boxes of books in front of a painting of a woman and the words Lindsay Community School.

We have been working with Lindsay Community School, a school dedicated to helping pregnant and parenting teens, for our entire 20+ year history! We recently donated books to Lindsay and were so happy to receive this wonderful response from Dawn Miller, Head Teacher!

"The girls and their children were THRILLED - what a beautiful collection of books! So exciting to see the students reading with their babies and children...Cannot thank you enough for helping us bring a little bit of joy to our families in these heavy times."

If you would like to support more collaborations like this one, you can donate to Words Alive here! 

Hello From Our New Storytelling Intern!

A picture of Zoe.

"Hi everyone! My name is Zoe and I am the Storytelling Intern at Words Alive. I have loved reading for as long as I can remember, and I'm so excited to share that love with others by telling the Words Alive story! If you're reading this newsletter, you have a unique perspective to share on what Words Alive brings to the world, and I want to hear all about it. You can reach me at [email protected]!"

Zoe got involved with Words Alive as a volunteer, like many of you! If you currently volunteer with us, we encourage you to add your volunteer position to your LinkedIn profile. Showcase your leadership skills and help us reach more people at the same time!

#WriteNow

Colorful balls of tissue paper representing emotions spread upward from a gray silhouette of a person in profile.

To help teens cope and connect with current events, we’ve started #WriteNow, a collection of writing prompts that provide inspiration in this difficult time. This week, we challenge teens to write a story in just ten sentences, ask them to think about the emotions they’re dealing with right now, and encourage them to reflect on how they handle conflicts.

Check out our latest prompts:

1. 10-Sentence Story

2. Emotions in Common

3. A Call for Equity

Now in 9 Languages!

Text that reads: “Help us support literacy in families’ home languages!” above images of literacy resources in Spanish, Arabic, and Haitian Creole.

Words Alive is now providing resources for students and families in 9 different languages: English, Spanish, Farsi, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Burmese, Karen, Amharic, and Portuguese! We want to ensure that we are supporting and providing curriculum to families in their home languages.

Are you interested in helping even more families build healthy reading habits and skill sets? Volunteer as a translator for our Translation Station! To learn more, visit our website. 

Donate Here to Support Words Alive!

The Words Alive Reader: September 9, 2020

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!”

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!

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!

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 Diego, City Heights CDC, Project Concern International, Groundwork San Diego, Oceanside 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.

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! 

Donate Here to Support Words Alive!

The Words Alive Reader: August 26, 2020

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.

“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!

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.

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!”

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!

Donate Here to Support Words Alive!

Give the Gift of Reading

On November 29, Words Alive participated in a global day of giving, #GivingTuesday. We used this day focused on charity to kick-off our holiday campaign that will continue through the end of 2016. In order to continue inspiring a life-long commitment to reading, Words Alive needs your help to give books, volunteer, or make a donation. This holiday season, help us give the gift of reading to children, teens, and families all across San Diego.

Here's how you can help:
Give Books -- Like many of you, Words Alive has a holiday wishlist! We've compiled a list of books for our literacy programs that we believe our participants will love. We've partnered with Warwick's to ensure that all listed titles are available at their La Jolla location or online at www.warwicks.com. Our office will be accepting book donations Monday through Thursday from 9am-3pm, starting now!

Volunteer -- We are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help out our organization. You'll be given the opportunity to serve on a committee, work in our office, or become part of one of our three literacy programs. To learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit our volunteer page.

Make a Donation -- Words Alive relies on your generous donations to fund our programs and community outreach. Making a donation will help support our Read Aloud, Teen Services, and Family Literacy programs and allow us to give the gift of reading throughout 2017. Help us to continue bringing our community together through literacy and show that reading matters!

Words Alive is excited to be using #GivingTuesday as a platform for kicking off our holiday campaign. We look forward to receiving books, enlisting volunteers, and generating donations throughout the rest of 2016. The impact you make now will allow us to broaden our reach in 2017. Thank you!