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.