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!
FLP Launches at Lindsay Community School
A picture of our porcupine craft: a drawing of a porcupine decorated with toothpicks. Writing above the porcupine says “"‘He feels spikey. Comb his hair!’ — Starling”
In early February, we kicked off a fully-virtual version of our Family Literacy Program at Lindsay Community School! The Lindsay School, our longest-standing partner school, serves pregnant and parenting teens. Thanks to the generosity of the Words Alive community, we are now working with both the teen moms and their children.
In advance of our first session, families received Learning Kits for each of the weeks we’re learning together. Learning Kits include a copy of the story, parent guides, and craft materials related to the book. At our first session, we read How Do You Hug a Porcupine? The kids followed along with the story – read in English and Spanish by our outstanding teaching artists — and then together we completed the most adorable porcupine craft projects!
If you'd like to help us provide books and learning supplies to students in our Family Literacy Program, check out our Amazon wishlist the next time you’re shopping online.
Celebrating Our 200th Story Station
A graphic that says “200 days of Story Station!” next to pictures of three of our volunteer Story Station Conductors.
"The greatest gain is being able to model the behaviors that we'd love to see parents embrace in the home." — Jim McIlhon, Story Station volunteer, on the power of virtual read alouds
We recently shared our 200th live read aloud on Story Station! Our daily read alouds on Facebook Live (every weekday at 2 pm PT) have become a beloved way for children and families to connect through the power of story.
Want to celebrate with us? Check out this blog post about one of our Story Station conductors, Mr. Jim, to learn more about why sharing stories with children and families is so important.
Meet our Curriculum Leads
A graphic featuring pictures of our four Curriculum Leads: Cheryl Converse-Rath, Nanditha Krishnan, Vivian Lin, and Marcus Weber.
We are thrilled to introduce four incredible volunteers who have stepped up to lead our Curriculum Crew: Cheryl, Nanditha, Vivian, and Marcus! Words Alive’s Curriculum Leads coordinate the 80+ volunteers who are writing, editing, and designing the curriculum used in our programming – both in person and online. Discover their favorite books, reasons for volunteering, challenges and rewards of being a Curriculum Crew Lead Volunteer, and more in our new blog post.
Champions for Youth Bonus Funding Results
A graphic that says “Champion for Youth Results.” The graphic features the words “$53,000 Bonus Funding” over a trophy, with the words “$93,000 total!” at the bottom.
Throughout December and January, we had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Champions for Youth campaign with the Century Club of San Diego and Farmers Insurance.
The results are in: all together, we earned $92,400 through the campaign – which included over $53,000 in bonus funding that was based on the number of individuals who made a gift, of any size, in support of the campaign.
Thank you so much to everyone who supported us! Even if you missed out on the campaign, it's never too late to support our students and families. Learn how you can give here.
We’re Hiring
A graphic that says “Join the team as our Engagement Director” above a picture of our staff.
Do you love providing people with opportunities to invest in causes they care about? Are you passionate about the power of reading? Come work with us!
We're looking for an Engagement Director to join our leadership team. You'll help us strategically engage our community to support our mission through investments of time, skills, donations, and resources. Learn more about this exciting opportunity here, and help us spread the word.
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