Plot Twist: 2022 Volunteer of the Year Kristina Cox

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

Image of Kristina Cox.

Kristina Cox’s service with Words Alive radiates with her incredible generosity and humble dedication to support her community through reading. As our Volunteer of the Year, Kristina has served in multiple roles since joining our team. From being a Champions for Youth fundraiser, Curriculum Editor, project crafter, and now the active Lead Volunteer of Social Media Squad and a WAWS Taskforce member, Kristina has made her extensive volunteering impact primarily through virtual means.

Learning about Words Alive’s remote volunteer opportunities in 2020 through her work’s community outreach team, Kristina was drawn to Words Alive’s mission and values and felt as if it “was an organization that [she had] always wanted to be a part of but never knew existed.” 

“I am passionate about equal access to education, and believe that literacy and the enjoyment of reading opens so many doors to not only opportunities but also ways to help make life more enjoyable. I feel so fortunate to be part of an organization that’s working towards making that possible.”

— Kristina Cox

Following her interest in virtual service roles, Kristina joined the Social Media Squad and the WAWS Taskforce and has been operating in those groups since. For the former, she collaborates with fellow staff and social media volunteers to fill Words Alive’s Social Media content calendar daily with helpful information, resources, and graphics to further grow and connect Words Alive’s online community. For the latter, Kristina supports other Taskforce members and WAWS Scholars by supplying ideas, articles, website content, and co-engineering activities and resources to better mentorship engagement with scholars.

When asked about how participating in these programs has made her feel, Kristina explained that she felt lucky and grateful—“Words Alive fosters such a beautiful, welcoming environment where it feels like anything is possible. I wish I could dedicate more time to it!”

In addition to the warm relationships she has cultivated through teamwork and volunteering, Kristina’s belief in Words Alive’s values and mission motivates her to keep going and make a difference in her community. She shared, “My entire experience as a whole with Words Alive has impacted me greatly. I had a rough upbringing form a very young age until my late teens and books are the number one thing that got me through it. I can’t imagine where I’d be if I didn’t love reading/have the ability to read growing up. I have always wanted to help make that possible for kids/teens in whatever way I could, and I will always be a cheerleader for this organization!”

Words Alive’s community will forever be touched by Kristina’s magnanimous contributions and heart. Kristina, thank you for helping us to empower San Diego children, teens and families with the power of reading and allowing us to be a part of the positive impact you’re making in the world!

Book recommendation: The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

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This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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.

Plot Twist: 2022 Curriculum Designer of the Year Janelle Terry-Lorenzo

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

An image of Janelle Terry-Lorenzo.

Janelle Terry-Lorenzo warmly shares her literary talents and her deep appreciation for books with those around her and at Words Alive. As our Curriculum Designer of the Year, Janelle has served as a Curriculum Designer and Editor since 2021 and just began volunteering as an Adolescent Book Group (ABG) facilitator at the Monarch School this past January 2022.

She initially discovered Words Alive before the pandemic as she perused VolunteerMatch for service opportunities related to her passions. Though she had previously been unable to attend an orientation session due to her schedule, Words Alive’s shift to accommodate virtual/at-home volunteer work during COVID-19 allowed Janelle to easily get started in early 2021.

“I feel like literature has a very powerful role in developing empathy…and also helping us to feel like we belong when we see ourselves in stories. I like the idea of being a part of that for young people.”

— Janelle Terry-Lorenzo

Janelle’s love for literature exudes in all aspects of her volunteering. She explained being drawn to “the story of Words Alive” as “the focus [was] not just on improving literacy,” but also on “fostering a love of reading and the way that we can use books as both mirrors and windows.”

With a bachelor’s degree in English and a background as an editor for the pharmaceutical industry, Janelle found Words Alive’s Curriculum Crew roles appealing as it enabled her to lose herself for a couple hours in her hobby of editing while contributing a greater appreciation for reading via shaping our curriculums. Her experiences tutoring and teaching Language Arts part-time also came in handy when she joined the Adolescent Book Group program. She expressed having fun working with middle schoolers, sharing, “I love the stuff they come up with, the insights, it’s such an interesting age group.”

While engaging students in intense conversations was at times challenging, Janelle revealed that being an ABG facilitator carried a “positive intensity” that was really rewarding. She described the impact of witnessing the curriculums she was used to primarily working on come to life for the first time in the classroom and encountering students, teachers, and others’ excited reactions upon learning of her connection with Words Alive. Janelle expressed feeling not only proud to be part of a program recognized for its great impact, but also gaining more confidence in her volunteer work as she progressed.

Janelle Terry-Lorenzo’s children walking ahead inside a hallway at the Library of Congress.

Moreover, Janelle’s passion and motivation in her volunteer roles extends from living out and instilling her strong, connective values of reading and learning together in her family relationships. Homeschooling her two children who are now in middle school and high school, Janelle has long designed academic curriculums for her own kids and cultivated a love for reading and discussing literature with them. Her daughter remarked that “libraries [were] a common thread through her childhood” as Janelle and her family often drove and took trips throughout the US, bringing their own books/audiobooks and visiting libraries along the way. In her own words, “it’s definitely a part of our family culture!”

“[The Words Alive staff] is committed to helping me becoming better at editing and designing...[It’s] helpful to know that that’s the focus, it’s not assembly lined, it’s not impersonal, it’s not just submitting something and have that just be the end. The people I work with at Words Alive, there’s a commitment to the big picture. ”

— Janelle Terry-Lorenzo

On top of the support of Words Alive’s staff and fellow Curriculum Crew members, drawing connections and interacting with her kids about her volunteer work is what keeps Janelle motivated. She shared that she has talked with them about Hey Kiddo, the first book Janelle read with her ABG students this year and just finished designing the curriculum for El Deafo, which she had read with her son last year. She laughed, explaining, “Books always help keep me going!”

Janelle, thank you for bringing your values and contributions to Words Alive and for generously inspiring a greater culture and love of reading among communities in San Diego and everywhere you go!

Book recommendations: Subdivision by J. Robert Lennon, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, and she is currently rereading Watership Down by Richard Adams with her son!

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This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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.

Plot Twist: 2022 Youth Volunteer of the Year Thanvi Narapareddygari

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

An image of Thanvi Narapareddygari.

Our stellar Youth Volunteer of the Year, Thanvi Narapareddygari serves out of her passion and belief in the power of reading. Joining us from Tampa, Florida, she currently contributes to Words Alive in her key roles as a Pathfinder and Volunteer Engagement Analyst.

When she learned of Words Alive and its mission through VolunteerMatch, Thanvi knew that she had to sign up. As opposed to volunteering for a short time and then stopping in one-off projects like she was used to, she expressed her joy of being able to regularly hear volunteers’ stories and connect with the people we serve through her virtual roles in her day-to-day life.

As a Volunteer Engagement Analyst, Thanvi reaches out to different volunteer teams and assists in keeping track of engagement information such as volunteers’ service hours and the work they’re doing for Words Alive, which critically factors into grant reporting and more. Becoming one of our first Pathfinders later on, Thanvi crucially supports newer volunteers at the beginning stages of their Words Alive journeys as she meets with newcomers who are unsure of where they’d fit, gets to know their motivations and goals, and directs them to specific programs and roles that would best suit their volunteer interests.

Thanvi’s enthusiasm in her Words Alive roles flows from experiencing the impact of reading in her own life. Describing herself as “always [having her] head stuck in a book” since she was young, Thanvi found books to be constants for her as she traveled from place to place in her childhood. Thus, reading helped her to express herself and feel comfortable regardless of where she was.

“I feel inspired to continue reading in my own life and to appreciate how much literacy gives us in our day-to-day...sort of getting a reminder like, oh, there’s kids that are extremely excited to read that book, to turn that page—to see them and think about them sometimes keeps me going as well.”

— Thanvi Narapareddygari

Thanvi was reminded of her passion for books when she was invited for the first time to attend a virtual Family Literacy Program (FLP) session during her earlier volunteer days. As a new Engagement Analyst tracking FLP volunteer hours, she shared that she had not been able to witness any volunteer activities up until that point. However, observing the children in the session excitedly engage with the book they were studying together (which was also without words!) brought her back “to when [she] was little and what got [her] so excited about books in the first place and why [she] started volunteering” for Words Alive.

“I feel like I will never stop being a reader, I’ll be a lifelong reader because of this organization.”

— Thanvi Narapareddygari

This experience left her inspired not only to continue reading and volunteering, but also to appreciate the value and foundational role literacy plays in her future moving forward. As she prepares to into the medical field as a pre-med student, she shared that nurturing her love and excitement for reading at an earlier age motivated her during hard moments in her journey and allowed her to realize the importance of passing that gift onto others. She says, “The fact that these children are getting this opportunity through Words Alive to sort of experience the power of literacy, the power of reading at a young age and to be involved in that myself is truly amazing.”

Thanvi, thank you for your magnanimity and dedication to share the gift and power of reading with children, teens, and families! We are so appreciative of you!

Book recommendation: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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.

Plot Twist: 2022 Service Partner of the Year UCSD Center for Student Involvement—Andy Hoffman, Community Engagement Program Manager

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

Image of Andy Hoffman and volunteers with the UCSD Center for Student Involvement.

Fueled by his values, Andy Hoffman meaningfully builds and strengthens community through his volunteer service partnership with Words Alive. As the community engagement program manager of our Service Partner of the Year, University of California San Diego Center for Student Involvement (CSI), Andy coordinates with students and student organizations to create short-term service opportunities on campus and connecting UCSD’s student base of over 40,000 students to volunteer work.

Starting out in his position in March 2020, Andy struggled with figuring out how to engage students and local nonprofit partners for community service work at the onset of COVID-19. However, after searching for available service opportunities focusing on education, he stumbled upon Words Alive. He reached out to our community engagement manager, Robyn Grand and stayed connected from there—“I was just amazed at the creativity and kind of the drive to make sure that Words Alive was addressing the literacy gap, but also just how much they care about volunteers and how excited they were to work with our students.”

“I’ve learned that there’s so many different ways to work with Words Alive, and so just that flexibility and consistency that I’ve been able to have as a volunteer myself but also have been able to provide to students has been really invaluable.”

— Andy Hoffman

For CSI’s first project with Words Alive, UCSD student volunteers helped assemble over 1000 literacy kits. Cooperating with UCSD’s policies, Andy planned and worked with our staff to allow students to take boxes of materials back to their residence halls and assemble the kits asynchronously. Under Andy’s leadership, CSI has continued to implement literacy kit service projects this year as part of their Martin Luther King Jr. Week of Service and during spring break.

Reflecting on what his volunteering and role as someone who supports service opportunities meant to him, Andy shared, “If I can be engaged with the community, I’m basically thriving. So for me, it’s really, really, really awesome work and it feels like a privilege.” Andy recounted an impactful volunteering experience in which he attended a Words Alive book distribution. As a newer resident in San Diego at the time, he felt excited to meet fellow volunteers and witness theirs and the staff’s energy around literacy and service, explaining, “There was this social community building aspect that I strive for in my programs with my students, but to actually see it myself and be a part of that was just really awesome and just solidified that even as a volunteer, I love this and so I hope that I can share that with our students.”

One of Andy’s main takeaways from CSI’s partnership with Words Alive is that “every little thing counts” in coming up with various creative, accessible ways to get others involved in making an impact through service. Volunteering with Words Alive allowed him to learn and be positively challenged in his own role at UCSD to improve his own practices, make quick decisions, and respond to issues within the community in timely ways, especially given the ongoing need to address issues exacerbated in the pandemic. He pointed out that Words Alive inspired him not only by modeling this quick responsiveness but also by putting “a lot of joy into the work…that’s also something that is inspiring because this work can be hard, it can be challenging, and making things efficient and work well, and so anytime I interact with [Words Alive’s] staff, I feel like, wow, this is how I would want my potential team to run!”

Andy, thank you and the rest of CSI for your enthusiastic commitment to making a difference in the lives of your students and the Words Alive community. We are so grateful for your collaboration and partnership!

Book recommendation: Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee

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This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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.

Plot Twist: 2022 Rookie of the Year Brian Fidler

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

Image of Brian Fidler.

Our Rookie of the Year, Brian Fidler already made a big impact during his short amount of time with Words Alive! His volunteer work is grounded in his vocations as a chaplain and educator. A retired Episcopal priest, he taught and spent his chaplaincy for 38 years in Independent Day and boarding schools around the country. After coming to a school in San Diego for his last position, Brian has since resided there with his wife in retirement for 11 years. 

Brian got started as an Adolescent Book Group (ABG) facilitator through his good friend and longtime Words Alive volunteer, who notified him of Words Alive’s need for volunteers to staff the program. After a quick training session in December, he began volunteering with 9th grade and 12th grade students participating in ABG at the Monarch School this past January.

In discussing his reasons for volunteering, Brain shared his belief and enjoyment in cultivating the minds and potential of young people. Missing their energy and the experience of supporting their growth after three years in retirement, he found it motivating to engage with students in the ABG program and encourage them to tackle “big ideas” through the reading and discussing books together. He explains, “Reading award-winning adolescent literature about timely social issues makes for some lively and meaningful conversation!” 

Brian often finds that the impact of working with ABG student participants comes about in supporting them in the long haul. While he has witnessed a handful of ‘aha’ moments occur during group discussions, he discerned that the whole process of meeting his students’ quiet skepticism, working alongside them to find resonating themes or characters, and inviting them to draw and open up about their story-to-life connections through asking questions is what brings about meaning and change in their mindsets. He recalled a recent discussion in which one student was moved to cheer for one character’s small victory while acknowledging that another character whom she disliked at the beginning of the book had redeemed himself, even if it was only a little bit! 

“Hands down, the two biggest takeaways are how worthwhile it is to invest time and patience in young people, and how reading literature that engages them can help stimulate thinking about ‘big ideas’ in their own lives!”

— Brian Fidler

Brian, thank you for your service helping young people to learn and grow through reading together with Words Alive!

Book recommendations: Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro and Dear Martin by Nic Stone, books read by the Monarch School’s 9th grade and 12th grade students in the Adolescent Book Group program

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This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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.

Plot Twist: 2022 Curriculum Editor of the Year Angela Tran

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

Image of Angela Tran.

Our Curriculum Editor of the Year, Angela Tran makes her impact felt at Words Alive no matter the distance! Based in New York, Angela graduated college with a major in Chemistry and minors in Biology and Philosophy. She now works full-time as a medical scribe for an urgent care and has been volunteering with us virtually as a Curriculum Editor since November 2020! 

“...I don’t directly see or talk to the students who use these guides as I volunteer remotely from another state. However, I enjoy working as an editor because I’m allowed to be a part of making these [curriculum] guides become a success. Reading has always been one of my hobbies since I was young, and it makes me happy to know that these guides are helping kids fall in love with reading too.”

— Angela Tran

Angela discovered Words Alive while exploring VolunteerMatch for ways to continue helping at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained feeling connected to Words Alive’s mission as it allowed her to combine her hobbies of reading and editing peoples’ written work for fun to make an impact on others.

As a Curriculum Editor, Angela edits the learning kits and guides that our volunteers and teachers use to help students engage with the books they’re reading for Words Alive’s programs. Collaborating with our Curriculum Designers and Writers to create finalized guides, she’s worked on twelve curriculum guides so far and is now editing her thirteenth! She shares, “…Even though my role was only one part of the process, it felt meaningful knowing that I was able to help put together something that would help other children enjoy reading and writing.” 

Cover of Why am I Me? by Paige Britt, Sean Qualls, Selina Alko.

This sentiment carries from her experience of working on her very first curriculum guide back in November 2020 for the book, Why Am I Me?

Angela recalls that editing the guide for its story, which focuses on figuring out what makes a person unique, carried a lot of meaning for her as the guide challenged young students to find their own answers towards a topic that even adults struggle to tackle. After finishing her edits, she described seeing the final version of the guide in December as incredible and felt grateful to have contributed to its creation. She reflects, “I hope that the students who used this guide also enjoyed reading this story and were able to understand a little more about what makes them special as human beings in this world.” 

In the future, Angela is set to matriculate to medical school this upcoming summer 2022! She revealed that amid her busy work and school schedule, volunteering at Words Alive helped her to revitalize her hobby and appreciation for reading, as well as reminding her “how words can shape the person you become and how important it is to learn how to read and comprehend.”

Angela, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and dedicated work helping us to uplift children, teens, and families through reading. We’re so grateful to be a part of your volunteering journey and positive impact! 

Book recommendation: “They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera  

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 This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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. 

Plot Twist: 2022 Page Turner of the Year Jazmyn George

Welcome to our 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. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

A picture of Jazmyn George.

Hailing from Palatine, Illinois, high school sophomore and our Page Turner of the Year Jazmyn George (she/they) is already trailblazing her way at Words Alive and in the world of literature and writing. Through our Page Turners program, Jazmyn helps inform Words Alive of diverse, relevant books to include in our program curriculum as she reads and assesses different recommended titles. 

Jazmyn began volunteering as a Page Turner after discovering that she was able to gain school credit while engaging in volunteer work, but it didn’t take long for her to realize it was, in her own words, “the perfect role.” As a fast, avid reader since as long as she could remember and now a Page Turner, Jazmyn reads and reviews hundreds of books per year! 

“I’ve always believed that reading—especially [if it’s] good books that you actually connect with, whether it’s [to] your racial background, your experience, stuff like that—has always been a gift, but it’s also fun.”

— Jazmyn George

The cover of Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.

Her love of books and storytelling is palpable as she animatedly described how re-reading Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, one of her favorite authors later in life as a Page Turner had allowed her to better appreciate the novel’s unique story format and connect more deeply to its moving themes of loss and grief.  

But Jazmyn’s passion as a Page Turner transcends her own interest in just reading great stories—she loves that she’s able to introduce kids to books reflecting the experiences of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized groups that she would have loved to read growing up. Jazmyn shared that until she was thirteen, she had not read any book with a person of color as the main character. So when she signed onto the Page Turners website and saw dozens of titles with queer main characters and different characters that looked like her, she was shocked. “It was like, woah, I honestly didn’t know books like that were accessible!” she exclaimed. “Being able to pass that accessibility onto others is what really keeps me coming back.” 

In addition to sharing diverse and representative stories, Jazmyn also appreciates that she’s able to provide trigger warnings about books to help alert readers to potentially distressing themes. She sums up the impact of her work as a Page Turner as “like giving back to the community” even though she doesn’t live in San Diego. 

“I’m 100% coming back to this. It’s so easy, you just get to read a book, fill out a form, and it helps kids and I enjoy myself, so like, it’s a win-win for everyone!”

— Jazmyn George

Jazmyn’s experience volunteering and reading diverse authors has also encouraged her to continue pursuing her own dream of becoming a writer and publishing her own books. Writing since she was in kindergarten, Jazmyn endeavors to become part of the greater effort and hope that there will be more books written by authors of marginalized groups and diverse characters with narratives that authentically represent lived experiences. She has faith in her passionate, local Gen Z peers and believes that we can create a more diverse literary future by working and pushing for change together! 

We’re so astounded and inspired by you, Jazmyn! We know you’ll make a huge impact—thanks for allowing Words Alive to be a part of that! 

Book recommendations: The Sun is Also a Star and Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon; Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis 

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This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! 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.

Plot Twist: Teoman Yazar

Welcome to our 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 Teoman Yazar: a multi-talented volunteer who, at 11 years old, is one of the youngest Page Turners in the Words Alive community! His myriad of talents and hobbies include playing four different instruments (and playing for rock bands!), rock climbing, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. When he grows up he is considering a career in the biomedical field or becoming a wildlife photographer.

During COVID, Teoman and his dad were looking for community service opportunities when they stumbled upon Words Alive. As an avid reader and someone that values helping others, he figured being a Page Turner would be just the thing for him. He has already read and reviewed 6 books for inclusion in the Words Alive curriculum! 

Watch Teoman receive his award at 11:12!

Besides the rewarding feeling that comes with doing something meaningful for others, Teoman received the Bronze President's Service Award this year in recognition of his work.  "I was really excited," he recalls, all smiles, "I did not expect that to happen."

When asked about why people should volunteer, he replied simply: "Well, it's just helping other people." He added, “If you grow up helping other people then when you grow up you’ll want to just help other people. And not necessarily by volunteering, but just in general.”

What's also fantastic about Teoman is that he really engages with the Page Turner process of reading and reviewing books. It can be challenging, he admits. “Having to explain the whole book in a couple sentences — that's usually pretty hard.”

“I learned to understand the book better.”

But as he reads and writes about more and more books, he's growing in his reviewing abilities. “I learned to understand the book better,” he says, “like what the more important parts of the book are rather than what the details are.”

He has this advice to share with his fellow reviewers: "Before you write the review, make sure to skim through the book a little bit… to refresh your memory on what the book is about." He also says that reading other reviews to ensure that you understood the book correctly may also be helpful.

About the importance of reading books, he notes, “Reading really helps – at least my – attention span because you have to sit down and read something for a long time.” He feels books can show readers a variety of experiences and perspectives different from their own. "It teaches you what other people have to go through sometimes,” he says.

The Whispers by Greg Howard.

The First Rule of Punk by Cecilia C. Perez. 

Some of his top picks from the Words Alive list are The Whispers by Greg Howard and The First Rule of Punk by Cecilia C. Perez. 

Unsurprisingly for a committed Words Alive volunteer, he's truly enthusiastic about reading, even outside of Page Turners.

Teoman shows off one of his favorite books.

When we asked about his personal favorite book, he eagerly held up several volumes to the camera and said, “I have four of my favorite books right here, just in case you asked this question!” His current top choice is One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.

Teoman wants other people to enjoy their experiences with books, too. He appreciates that through Page Turners, he is able to help others avoid diving headfirst into a book without knowing what it's about.

“Sometimes I read a book and it’s totally not what I expect and I don’t want to read the book anymore, so I don’t want that to happen to other people.”

He hopes one day he can be a Book Hunter for Words Alive and find new books for other Page Turners to review. “I want to do that because I know a couple books that I would definitely recommend.”

Judging by his attitude towards helping others and his work as a Page Turner, service is evidently an ingrained part of Teoman's life. We're thrilled to see this young student already taking initiative to change his community. Keep up the amazing work, Teoman! You are already making a difference now; we are positive you will accomplish great things when you grow up, too.

This post was written by Idie Park, 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.

The Words Alive Reader: May 18, 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!

Author Adib Khorram Visits Words Alive Students

A picture of author Adib Khorram, next to the cover of his book Darius the Great is Not Okay.

"Sometimes you're afraid to start a story because it's getting at something that you don't want to share. My advice is to be brave and take it a little at a time." — Adib Khorram to Words Alive high school students

Acclaimed young adult author Adib Khorram recently visited one of our partner classrooms at San Ysidro High School to share his story and chat with students. Thank you to SYHS for partnering with us, to Adib for stopping by for a visit, and to the Words Alive volunteer who sponsored this experience for our students! Learn more about what Adib shared with our students and how they reacted here.

Plot Twist: Meher Gandhi

A picture of Meher Gandhi, our Engagement Volunteer of the Year.

Meet Meher Gandhi, an amazing Words Alive volunteer who supports us all the way from her home in India! She was recently named our Engagement Volunteer of the Year.

We talked to Meher about her love for literature, her experiences in volunteer leadership, and her international perspective on working together for literacy.

"We are really giving something to the community...not just in words, but in actions," she says. Read more here!

Oceanside Community Foundation Grants Words Alive $20,000

A screenshot from a Family Literacy Program session on Zoom. The kids are holding up their crafts to the camera.

Words Alive is partnering with the Oceanside Community Foundation to deliver our Family Literacy Program in the Oceanside community – connecting young children and families to the power of reading through play. So far, approximately 180 families have participated in this program year. Now, we are excited and grateful to share that the Oceanside Community Foundation has granted us $20,000 to expand our work in Oceanside with teen programming! The Oceanside Community Foundation has been an extremely supportive partner at every step of the process, and we are thrilled to continue working together.

Meet Our New Engagement Director, Alyssa Broda

A picture of Alyssa standing in front of a colorful mural that reads “You Are Radiant! Yes, You.”

We are so excited to announce the latest addition to the Words Alive team: our new Engagement Director, Alyssa Broda! ​​​​​​​

Alyssa is a dynamic fundraising professional with over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sphere. Here at Words Alive, Alyssa is working towards helping the organization reach new levels of engagement amongst donors and volunteers.
Read more about her and what she’s bringing to Words Alive here! 

Mental Health Month: Art & Lit

In honor of Mental Health Month, here are two ways that you can explore the connections between reading, art, education, and mental health with us.

1) Ben, a Words Alive volunteer and high school student, wrote a piece for our blog about how the pandemic has affected student mental health. Read the full blog post here.

2) With the trauma of the past year in mind, our Art & Lit project, created in partnership with ArtReach, was designed to help students explore mindfulness, emotional awareness, and belonging through connection with reading and art. This year, for the first time ever, the whole community can participate! Learn more here.

An example of this year’s Art & Lit Project: an identity circle drawn with red and gray markers.

Missed the Volunteer Appreciation Celebration?

The Words Alive logo, the words “12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, Presented By” and the EY logo.

Did you miss our 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration? Don't worry — we recorded it! Through our virtual program, you can watch the recording, hear from our presenting sponsor, EY, read about the incredible volunteers who were recognized at the Celebration, download special Words Alive bookmarks, and more.

We are so grateful to each and every one of our volunteers for helping us connect children, teens, and families to the power of reading. If you'd like to become a volunteer, 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.

- Zoe, Eli, Nia and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team

Plot Twist: Meher Gandhi

Welcome to our 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 Meher.

Meet Meher Gandhi, an incredible volunteer who supports us all the way from her home Uttar Pradesh, India! Meher is a college student who navigates a 12-hour time difference to host virtual orientation sessions for those interested in joining our community. 

To Meher, being an orientation leader is all about “letting [new volunteers] know how much hard work, but also compassion that goes into the work that we do at Words Alive.” And she’s done a fantastic job: she has single-handedly introduced 130 potential volunteers to Words Alive since October, and was recently named Engagement Volunteer of the Year at our 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration for her incredible work.

To introduce herself, Meher says, “Anybody who knows me knows that I love literature; I love reading and writing and talking to people and getting to know them, which is precisely why I am glad that I'm a part of Words Alive!” 

At university, she studies media, literature, and psychology, and she also works with publishers to review books on her blog and her bookstagram (book-themed Instagram) account @bustleboutbooks — so she has a lot of experience with the power of words.

In the fall of 2020, she decided to try to find a place where she could use her love for reading and writing and her diverse experiences in the world of words to give back to the community. She wanted to increase access to the kinds of literacy resources that have made such an impact in her own life.

“I signed up with VolunteerMatch, and then I got to know about Words Alive and I didn't look any further,” she says, smiling.

The cover of Dear Martin, by Nic Stone.

Initially, Meher joined us as a curriculum writer for the book Dear Martin by Nic Stone. She loved learning how to analyze books on a deeper level and knowing that the curriculum she wrote would directly impact the lives of students. 

“I’ve analyzed the book and I’ve brought together some resources that can actually help kids in the longer run to really understand aspects like racism or violence or police brutality,” she says. 

Though the topics may sometimes be difficult, she loves getting to help students grapple with these big concepts through words and stories.

After a few months of curriculum writing, Meher stepped up to lead other volunteers as an orientation leader. 

“When I had to give the first orientation...I was pretty nervous, because there was a lot of responsibility that I felt...being the face of the organization,” she shares. “I wanted to be absolutely perfect at that — at communicating all the values that we uphold and how we really approach things,” she says.

Meher herself had only been with Words Alive for two to three months at this point! But this fresh perspective made her the perfect person to understand how other new volunteers might feel when hearing about Words Alive for the first time and to address their doubts and concerns. With each new orientation, she grew in her confidence and ability to share the mission of Words Alive.

Because of the time difference between the U.S. and India, she occasionally has to run her orientations at 4 in the morning! But she doesn’t mind. “I do remember waking up in the middle of the night for my first orientation for Words Alive, and that's something I will always cherish because that just shows how much I really wanted to be a part of it,” Meher says. 

Words Alive volunteer Jim McIlhon presents Meher the Engagement Volunteer of the Year Award at the Volunteer Appreciation Celebration.

“It's all been worth it. I welcome all the new potential volunteers that come in, and that’s just wonderful because there are a lot of new people who want to know about Words Alive,” she says. “I am really, really grateful to be a part of the organization...Everybody makes you feel like it’s a family.” 

Meher is passionate about creating opportunities for people from different cultures to learn from each other. “Being an international volunteer, I do have sort of a different way to approach certain things,” she says. “But I think that’s how we can actually learn to incorporate different cultural heritages and cultural introductions that we give to each other.” 

“Literacy is not just about gaining qualifications or degrees; it’s more about broadening your horizons on the ways you look at things.”

“You have a mix of all these cultures and all these traditions...and that just contributes to the higher purpose we have,” she says. “Literacy is not just about gaining qualifications or degrees; it’s more about broadening your horizons on the ways you look at things.” 

Meher’s biggest takeaway from being a Words Alive volunteer, she says, is that she “was able to really understand the ways of the organization and how we are really giving something to the community—to the people—not just in words, but in actions.”

In the future, Meher hopes that Words Alive can bring in even more international volunteers so that more people around the world learn about our work. She is also excited about engaging more with other volunteers and trying out new roles within Words Alive such as the Storytelling Team and Page Turners. 

And one day, she says, “I really hope I can visit San Diego and see and meet you all in person!”

—

Meher, we hope we get to meet you in person one day too! You are making a difference around the world and we are so thankful for the passion you bring to Words Alive.

This post was created by Zoe Wong and Judy Stout, 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.