Welcome to The Words Alive Reader, a regular newsletter keeping you up-to-date with the latest in how we've been connecting children, teens, and families to the power of reading. What have we been up to and how can you help? Read on to find out!
13-Year-Old Aden Raises More Than $1,200 for Words Alive
A picture of Aden reading a book.
"I want to make sure others can enjoy the pleasure of reading without barriers standing in their way." — Aden
Words Alive would like to thank Aden for hosting a readathon with three of her friends to raise money for us, all the way from Washington, D.C.! As part of her Bat Mitzvah project, she has already raised over $1,200 to support our mission—more than double her initial $500 goal. Aden and her friends have already documented 3,369 minutes read. We are so inspired by her example and grateful for her support. Learn more about the project and help Aden reach her new $1,500 goal here!
Family Literacy Program with DEEP
A screenshot from one of our Family Literacy Program sessions.
We were excited to welcome 40 children (from 29 families) to the latest wave of our Family Literacy Program! Thanks to Diamond Educational Excellence Partnership (DEEP) and our dedicated volunteers, we shared six weeks of early literacy programming in Spanish and English with parents and their preschool age kids. We had a blast reading, singing, and doing crafts together, and are looking forward to many more Family Literacy Program sessions in the future. In the meantime, if you’re looking for literacy resources for the little ones in your life, visit our website!
Highlighting Asian American and Pacific Islander Stories
A graphic with a collage of some of the AAPI authors we featured and their books.
We know that authentic, diverse representation in the stories we read is a powerful way to combat hatred and build community. We use our social media platforms (@WordsAliveSD) to spotlight authors who represent the lived experiences of the children, teens, and families we serve.
Recently we've been proud to share the voices of authors from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, such as Jenny Han, Kelly Yang, Randy Ribay, and more. For our latest blog post, we've compiled these spotlights as a resource to help all of us diversify the books we're reading. Check it out here!
Thank You, UCSD!
Three volunteers from UCSD jump for joy in front of a van packed with learning kit supplies.
Thank you to the dozens of UC San Diego students who took time out of their spring break to assemble learning kits with craft supplies, books and reading activities for us! Learning Kits are stocked with the tools students need to succeed: pens and pencils, stationery, scissors, and, of course, new books. If you’d like to help, check out our Amazon wishlist to help us provide even more learning kits to students and families.
Join Us This Thursday For Our Volunteer Appreciation Celebration
A graphic that says “You’re Invited! Words Alive’s 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, Presented by EY.” In the bottom half, it says “Thursday, April 22 at 4PM PT. Sign up to join us for an optional breakout session to participate in the 2021 Art & Lit project!”
We want to celebrate you! You are invited to Words Alive's 12th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration, presented by EY. The event takes place this week on Thursday, April 22nd at 4 pm PT.
Join us as we reflect on a year of incredible contributions from volunteers all across San Diego, the United States, and the world! During the hour-long event, join us as we present service awards to distinguished volunteers in our community and hear from organization and community leaders about the impact we made over the past year. There will also be a sneak-preview of our 2021 Art & Lit Experience.
Meet Fellow Volunteers at the Welcome Wagon
All aboard the Welcome Wagon! New to Words Alive or looking to meet other volunteers? Want to know what teams like the Curriculum Crew and Social Media Squad have been up to recently?
Come to this monthly event to meet new and veteran volunteers, learn more about each team and the projects they work on, and have fun! The next Welcome Wagon is leaving the station on Thursday, April 29th at 3pm PT.
Text that reads “MEET FELLOW VOLUNTEERS AT THE WORDS ALIVE WELCOME WAGON: Thursday, April 29th at 3 pm PT” over a floral blue, orange, and pink background.
Donate here to support Words Alive!
This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by us, a cohort of volunteers! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? We'd love your help! Email to learn more.
- Zoe, Eli, Nia and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team