The Words Alive Reader: March 17, 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. We have exciting new stories and opportunities to share as we continue our celebration of National Reading Month!​​​​​​​

Thank You Bentivoglio Family Fund!

We are thrilled to share Words Alive recently received an astounding $200,000 gift from the Bentivoglio Family Fund - the single largest donation ever received by Words Alive! We are humbled by such an investment in our work to uplift children, teens, and families through the power of reading!

​​​​​​​In partnership with local Head Start, Boys & Girls Clubs, elementary and high schools, and more than 1,000 volunteers all over the world, this historic gift will help Words Alive reach more than 4,500 students and families throughout San Diego this school year. To learn more about this gift, click here.

Reading with Teens at the Jackie Robinson YMCA

This week, Words Alive is launching new spring book clubs for teens at the Jackie Robinson YMCA in collaboration with United Way, San Diego Foundation, and amazing community partners. We are training YMCA leaders to run our Adolescent Book Group for students in the Lincoln High School cluster, starting with the award-winning graphic novel, Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka.

Are you an experienced or past ABG volunteer? We would love your help training and coaching partners to facilitate the program. Email us at [email protected] if you're interested!

New Books and Learning Kits for 2,400 Students

This week 2,460 students at 15 partner schools throughout San Diego will be receiving a new hardcover book - Bruce's Big Storm by Ryan T. Higgins - and a learning kit for each student with the supplies to make their own cloud viewer!

This project is thanks to an amazing collaboration: books were donated by the San Diego Council on Literacy and were paired with a learning kit imagined by the Fleet Science Center, supported by Hunter Industries, and compiled by UCSD's Center for Student Involvement.

Check it out and read along! Click here to download the learning kit and family guide (available in 8 languages). You can find the book at your local library.

2021 Volunteer Trends

Words Alive's volunteers are amazing! Our 2021 Volunteer Round Up report is hot off the presses with incredible data about the community who supports our work!

Did you know:

• 58% of Words Alive's volunteers are under the age of 25

• 35% of our volunteers identify as Asian

• 20% of our volunteers have a graduate degree

• 6% of our volunteers are active-duty military or veterans

Representation matters at Words Alive, and we are dedicated to reflecting our community's lived experiences in everything we do. This report highlights our evolving demographic data on our volunteer base's ever-changing gender, racial, educational diversity and more.

Check it out here to learn more about our 2021 volunteer trends.

Thank you EY!

In a celebration of service, 225 EY employees from around the world participated in Words Alive projects around Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year! We'd like to thank our corporate partner, EY, for their commitment to empowering communities through reading!

Do you have a group of 25+ people and/or might be interested in sponsoring a service day for your team? Email us at [email protected] or call us at 858-274-9673. We'd love to talk about custom group service projects and/or opportunities to host service events at your office.

RSVP For Volunteer Appreciation Celebration

Register at our Zoom link to attend Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!

You are cordially invited to our 13th annual Words Alive Volunteer Appreciation Celebration that will take place virtually on Thursday, April 21 at 4:00 pm Pacific. Words Alive would not be the robust, thriving nonprofit it is today without the contributions of our volunteers!

Join us at this hour-long virtual event by signing up at this Zoom registration link. We hope to see you there as we honor our outstanding volunteers!

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

Plot Twist: Melinda Wynar

This post was created by Ben Hollingshead and Zoe Wong, Words Alive volunteers! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? We'd love to have you on the team! Email to learn more.

Meet Words Alive volunteer extraordinaire: Melinda Wynar! Melinda is a retired preschool teacher and senior program activity director who has been a beloved Read Aloud Program volunteer for many years. She has also stepped up to volunteer for several other Words Alive programs whenever we need her!

Melinda is featured as a Community Champion in this video from Molina Healthcare!

She was recently recognized by Molina Healthcare as a Community Champion for her leadership and dedication to our community. Read on to learn about Melinda’s experience reading during the transition to distance learning, her takeaways and proudest accomplishments as a volunteer, and her hopes for our community.   

Melinda’s journey with Words Alive began when she started making plans for her retirement six years ago. “I made a list of all the things that I wanted to do when I retired and things that I enjoy doing,” she says. “And one of them that I always loved to do was to read to kids—it was my favorite thing when I was a preschool teacher many, many years ago.” Starting at the local library, she looked for reading-related volunteer opportunities without much success, until she heard about Words Alive from a friend. She found her way to our website, signed up to volunteer, and has not looked back since. “I just felt embraced by [Words Alive],” Melinda says, describing her first impressions of the organization.”I’ve never felt so well taken care of.” 

Melinda reads aloud to a classroom full of students.

Melinda began reading at Felicita Elementary School in Escondido and has been with the school ever since. Her continued commitment to Felicita means that she has built up strong relationships with teachers and kids over the years. “I’ll walk through the school and other kids that I read with...maybe the year before...will say ‘Oh, there’s the reading lady!'" Melinda says, smiling. “The most rewarding part is just interacting with these amazing teachers and kids,” she says. “It’s amazing how it makes an impression on the kids.” This excited response from the students is what has motivated her to be a tireless volunteer for the past six years.

Melinda and one of her classrooms at Felicita Elementary smile and hold up books.

As schools have moved to virtual learning, she has enthusiastically approached the challenge of reading on Zoom. “It’s tricky,” she laughs. “I'm so used to having the kids close by and being able to have a little more interaction with them.” But she didn’t let a bumpy first meeting stop her. She reached out and began working closely with the teachers to effectively redesign the online sessions, willingly incorporating feedback to optimize the interactive reading experience for her students. “[The teacher] may actually have the kids zoom in on their iPads,” Melinda says, “so that I will see them closer and I can feel a little more interactive with them.”  

She truly loves what she does, which is evident when she describes the books she reads to the kids. Her favorite book to read aloud is The Night Gardener by the Fan Brothers. “It is the most beautifully written and illustrated book; it actually brings tears to my eyes,” she says, describing the story about a magical gardener who creates beautiful topiaries by night. Another favorite is The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, a book about a group of disgruntled crayons who go on strike from coloring.“That book just cracks me up!” she says, smiling.

The cover of The Night Gardener, Melinda's favorite book.

Melinda is honest about the lessons she's learned through her time as a volunteer. "Reading with Words Alive put me in a community I'm not usually associated with," she says. "I definitely had to look at stereotypes or biases that I had about lower income communities or Hispanic communities." Because of her willingness to learn and challenge her own assumptions, her experience as a volunteer has given her a new appreciation for the hopes, aspirations, and struggles of the communities she works with.

Melinda volunteering at a socially-distanced book sorting.

In addition to being a Read Aloud Program volunteer, Melinda has stepped up for many of our other programs, including helping with Readers in the Heights, putting together craft kits, recording read-aloud videos for children with limited home libraries, sorting book donations, and most recently, fundraising on our behalf as a Champion for Youth. But her proudest accomplishment as a volunteer, she says, was recruiting authors to donate their time to the Words Alive Authors Auction. This silent auction allowed participants to bid on virtual visits with published authors, with all proceeds going to Words Alive. “It was very fun getting different authors to sign on,” she says. Through her tireless efforts, twelve more authors volunteered for the auction. “I'm pretty proud about that!” she says.

All of this volunteer work means a lot to Melinda personally. “Retiring is a little terrifying,” she says, laughing. “I was so used to working and being involved in so many different things...I would wake up in the morning, ready to jump out of bed, because I had a definite thing to do.” Now, as a retiree, she says, “What I love about volunteering is it gives me that same sense of purpose.”

Melinda reads to four children as part of Readers in the Heights.

And although she has retired from the workforce, Melinda has never stopped giving back to our community. “What I’m really hoping is that…we can find ways to come together and to find our common humanity,” she says. “Reading is a wonderful part of bringing people together.”

We couldn't agree more! Melinda, thank you for your time and dedication to making our community a better place.

Books Connect Us: April 24, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Book Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Mark Oshiro and Matt de La Peña Take Over #BooksConnectUs!

Words Alive is very excited to host authors Mark Oshiro and Matt de La Peña on #BooksConnectUs! This week Mark Oshiro desgined an exclusive writing lesson for our QuaranTEENS, check it out here.

Next Wednesday, April 29th, Matt de La Peña will be taking over Story Station on Facebook live with a reading of his book Love! After the reading make sure to check out the Story Station and QuaranTEENS pages for activities tying into the book!

Words Alive Celebrates Volunteer Appreciation Week!

This week is National Volunteer Week and we want to thank our volunteers for all of the passion, hard work, and dedication they bring to Words Alive!

We shared special thank you messages from our staff this week on social media. To hear our thanks, click here!

Read Aloud and Distance Learning!

Did you know more than 110 classrooms of children are virtually participating in our Read Aloud Program while at home? Words Alive wants to extend a very special thank you to one of our volunteers who partnered with Warwick’s in La Jolla and Run For Cover in Ocean Beach to donate books to kids in our program! The books will be sent directly to students’ homes to help build their home libraries and allow them to follow along with our Read Aloud content.

Are you interested in sponsoring our Read Aloud classes and helping children build their home libraries? We’ve got you covered! Email Robyn to get started.

Upcoming (Virtual) Events:

Join us for Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

4/27: Rubia and the Three Osos by Susan Middleton Elya

4/28: The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates

4/29: Love read by author Matt de La Peña

4/30: Amelia & Elenor Go For A Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan

5/1: ¡Un día una señora se tragó unos libros! por Lucille Colandro

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS:

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1. Turn an Idea Into A Story by author Mark Oshiro

2. Stuck Inside, but Writing Outside the Box

3. DIY Mind Jar with Mindfully Empowered

Books Connect Us: April 17, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Book Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Words Alive Worldwide!

Image of a child holding their hands up to their eyes while watching Words Alive Story Station.

With the jarring arrival of COVID-19, Words Alive knew our decades of experience could help children, teens, and families use the power of reading to cope with the imminent trauma and turbulence, but we didn’t realize just how many people we would reach. 

Since March 26, there have been more than 7,000 unique visitors to our website from every state and 21 countries. (This week we’re averaging 500+ each day!) In addition, we’ve hosted 18 live story times on Facebook that average 720 views each. We can confidently say we’re connecting more children and families to the power of reading than ever before – and we are humbled to do so during such a stressful time.

Want to help spread the word? Become a Words Alive Ambassador and share our resources with the loved ones in your life. Get started here.

Going the Distance!

Image of a student writing with a laptop open in front of them.

Students are “returning” from spring break to find that Words Alive is embedded in their virtual classrooms. We worked with our teacher partners to launch exclusive virtual modules for more than 100 classrooms participating in our Read Aloud and Adolescent Book Group programs. These resources include videos of trained volunteers reading aloud to students, virtual and print books and resources, writing prompts and discussion questions, hosted online discussions, and interactive platforms for sharing work.

To learn how to bring these exclusive resources to your schools or classrooms, or to support this work, let us know you're interested here.

Mindfulness Mondays!

Starting Monday, April 13th, Words Alive launched an 8-week mindfulness series in partnership with Mindfully Empowered! 

Image of a Mindfulness Monday graphic! This one featuring a DIY activity to calm the mind.

We will “Make it Lit” by accompanying each post with a reading extension, journal prompt, or other writing activity. During this uncertain time, skills to manage stress and anxiety are more important than ever before. Words Alive and Mindfully Empowered are excited to help teens develop healthy coping skills through reading, writing, and creating together. Check out new activities every Monday here.

Upcoming (Virtual) Events:

Join us for Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

4/20: Chalk by Bill Thompson

4/21: Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson

4/22: Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Elhert

4/23: Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

4/24: ¿Es tu mama una llama? por Deborah Guarino

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS:

Image of our QuaranTEENS logo!

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1. History Happening Now

2. Stages of Coping with COVID-19

3. Journal Prompt: Hope

Books Connect Us: April 10, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Book Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Reaching Coast to Coast

With the launch of Books Connect Us, Words Alive has seen an outpouring of individuals wanting to help!

We are excited to welcome our newest volunteers from California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia!  More than 50 new "virtual volunteers" have reached out to ask how they can help create content, read and review titles, coordinate virtual book drives, promote Books Connect Us, and more.

We rely on our community's expertise, passion, and commitment to help deliver exceptional programs and resources to families - and for your support we are truly grateful.

We’re hosting weekly virtual volunteer orientations. Click here to learn more.

Help Support our Westreich Scholars

Last week, Words Alive hosted a virtual check-in with our young adult Scholars and Mentors to see how they are coping and what we can do to help.

Given the implications of the pandemic on schools, jobs, housing, and health, the Scholars in our Westreich Scholarship and Mentorship Program are leaning into their resilience to adapt to a "new normal." Many are struggling to access food, shelter, internet, and child care – making a shift to distance learning in their post-secondary program extremely challenging.

We are honored that our volunteer mentors are side-by-side with this year's cohort to help them creatively problem solve and prioritize their pursuit of education during this turbulent time.

You can support our 14 Scholars by investing in our mentorship program, signing up to become a mentor, and/or donations of grocery, meal delivery, or gas gift cards. Click here to find out how.

Story Station en Español & Upcoming (Virtual) Events!

¡Hola! ¿Quieres escuchar una historia? Join us on the Words Alive Facebook page for a special edition of Story Station every Friday at 2 p.m. PT as we feature a different a story in Spanish!

Are you interested in reading stories or creating resources in Spanish or another language?  Click here to get started!

Join us for Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

4/13: Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae

4/14: Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

4/15: We Do Not Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

4/16: I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont

4/17: Gracia, Sr. Panda by Steve Antony

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1.  Write a Letter To Your Future Self

2. All the Feels - Writing Tip from author Elly Swartz

3. TikTok Challenge: Why are books the best stay-at-home activity?