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

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

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

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.

Introducing our Page Turner of the Month -- Guadalupe Gomez!

Words Alive is extremely thankful for all the passionate volunteers that work with us. We know that it can sometimes be difficult to set time aside to read a book, let alone to set time aside to leave an additional review. We thank you for carrying out this amazing act of service! You are all amazing and your time isn’t going unnoticed!

This month we are happy to introduce Guadalupe Gomez as our Page Turner of the month! Thank you so much, Guadalupe, for all the hard work you have recently put in to reading with us. Joining us all the way from Illinois, Guadalupe has been dedicated to our cause for the past year. Guadalupe, you are a rock star, and we hope you continue to help us spread diversity throughout our classrooms!

1. I found out about Words Alive through a Page Turners service opportunity on innerview.org while I was scrolling through to find something to do to get my required National Honor Society service hours.
2. If I had to choose, the best book that I've read with Page Turners has to be "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera. I read it all at once and it is one of my favorite books that I have read this year.
3. I started in order to fulfill my service for NHS, but I have continued because I read up on the program after reading my first book with Page Turners and I absolutely love the fact that, simply by reading, I can help other kids find a portal of peace, a relatable story, or maybe even an escape from their daily life. I continue to read as often as I can so that as many books as possible can be approved for the children to enjoy.
4. Honestly, I pay much more attention to details about the variety of prevalent issues in any books that I read now. By reading with Page Turners, I think I have finally begun to see all of the issues discussed throughout literature, and, even more so, the lack of discussion of these issues in popular literature.
5. I currently live in Markham, IL and I go to school in Midlothian, IL.

Thank you, Guadalupe and all of our volunteers, for reading with us! We wouldn’t be here without you all! :)

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  

 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 

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.

Meet Our New Celebration Intern, Lily Chen!

We celebrate our newest addition to the Words Alive Team: our Celebration Intern, Lily Chen! Read on to learn more about Lily!

Lily remembers cultivating her love for reading and writing during her childhood as she spent hours reading alongside her older brother and endeavored to read all the same books as him, even if she wasn’t quite as able to keep up! As she studied literature/writing and Chinese Studies at UC San Diego, Lily also worked as a tutor for first-year students learning college-level writing. She not only found it rewarding to work with students individually and help them understand new concepts, but also came to realize the importance of good communication skills and power of reading in opening up a whole new wealth of knowledge. After graduating in 2020, she continues be a lifelong reader and learner and contributes her skills in communication and public affairs. We’re so glad to have her on the team!

In her free time, Lily likes reading, writing, playing video games with her friends and watching trashy reality TV. On the weekends, you can find her trying new coffee shops and restaurants in North Park or picking up new books at the library.

Here’s a few words from Lily!

How did you discover Words Alive? What drew you to interning/working here? 

I discovered Words Alive by looking up organizations around the San Diego area to volunteer with. I was drawn to the mission at Words Alive because I think the work we do here is incredibly crucial, especially in designing curriculum to include books that have good representation for the students. I also think that it’s so amazing that the volunteer count at Words Alive has exploded since the pandemic, with so many people from across the nation (and even world?) being able to support Words Alive virtually. 

What is your favorite aspect so far of the work you do?

It’s only my second week at Words Alive so far, but my favorite part of working here is the amazing staff. They’re so warm and welcoming and they all clearly love and support the mission so much. It’s inspiring to do work that helps people and with people who are passionate about it. 

What book or story has had a big impact on you? 

A book that has had a big impact on me is Draw Your Weapons by Sarah Sentilles. I read it during my senior year of college for my honors capstone course. This book introduced me to the concept of lyric essay and creative nonfiction, which inspired my own honors thesis later on. Sentilles herself was invited to speak with my class virtually and hearing her explain her reason to utilize the lyric essay format struck me. She likened it to how we as people absorb little bits of information from everything we do, read, or see, and all those tidbits come together to inform our thoughts. We are each a collection of everything that’s ever happened to us, and our thought process is anything but linear.  

The book relayed Sentilles’ own experiences, philosophical texts, and historical accounts to create a complex tapestry that delved into the intricacies of human survival. It wove together so many seemingly disparate threads into a cohesive, striking essay about violence, trauma, and the beauty of art in devastating times.  

What is your favorite recent read? 

“There she is, a human being, diving into the unknown, and she is wide awake.”
— Otessa Moshfegh, "My Year of Rest and Relaxation"

One of my favorite recent reads is My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh. I know, a pretty controversial choice given the narrator's general terribleness, but something about the idea of being asleep for a whole year in a drugged out, fugue state seemed similar to how I was feeling about everything going on with the pandemic. Constantly bombarded with bad news and my own anxieties about an uncertain world wracked with tragedy, I could see the appeal of going to sleep for a while and hopefully waking up to a better place without having to deal with it head-on. The ending struck me hard emotionally, and I found myself carrying it with me days after.

Can you share a photo of something you love?

My two cats, Violet (the gray one) and Poppy (the orange one)!

We are so thankful to have Lily on our team! Are you interested in working with Words Alive? You can find open internship and employment opportunities here or click here to learn about how to volunteer with us!

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.

PRESS RELEASE: Words Alive Receives the Largest Donation in the History of the Organization!

Bentivoglio Family Fund Pledges $200,000

SAN DIEGO, California (March 14, 2022) – San Diego nonprofit Words Alive announced a $200,000 donation from the Bentivoglio Family Fund.

“I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to celebrate National Reading Month,” Words Alive Executive Director Rachael Orose smiles. “This incredible donation will support Words Alive’s 23-year-long commitment to inspiring San Diego’s next generation of readers.”

In partnership with local Head Start, Boys & Girls Clubs, elementary and high schools, and more than 1,000 global volunteers, Words Alive plans to reach more than 4,500 students and families throughout San Diego this school year. The organization’s programs spark interest in reading through family workshops, read alouds in elementary classrooms, and book clubs for teens.

“Reading is the key to unlocking far-away places, magical lands, and our own future success,” Orose points out. “Turning people into readers lies at the heart of our mission at Words Alive, and the Bentivoglio Family Fund’s remarkable gift will help so many San Diego students build a regular reading practice, putting them on the path to life-long learning. I am so moved by this investment in our mission.”

A representative from the Bentivoglio Family Fund explains that “We believe having access to books and literacy education is a fundamental lever for improving outcomes and that books provide young people the opportunity to think creatively and curiously about the world around them. We are honored to support Words Alive in their continued work to make reading matter.”

“Reading brings so much joy, especially to children and teens facing disruption, uncertainty, and trauma – especially now, after two years facing a pandemic,” Orose adds. “The Bentivoglio Family Fund’s leadership will enable us to bring uplifting, joyous moments for so many students through the simple, effective act of reading together.”

Founded in 1999, Words Alive connects children, teens, and families with the power of reading. Words Alive provides access to relevant and quality books, shared reading experiences, and a connection to reading that lays the foundation for continued success.



To learn more about Words Alive, visit: www.wordsalive.org

Meet our Page Turner of the Month -- Alan Parks!

Here at Words Alive, we strive to foster a community of readers who welcome stories of diversity, nontraditional life experiences, and the power it takes to overcome these battles. These stories introduce the power of resilience, courage, and compassion for others and their struggles. There are so many under-appreciated books with this message, and we wouldn’t be able to read and review all these amazing books by ourselves. This is why our volunteers are a crucial part of our program, and why we appreciate everyone who takes the time to read with us.

This month we are happy to showcase another one of our amazing volunteers. A big thank you to Alan Parks, our Page Turner of the Month! Alan, you are awesome! We appreciate all the time you’ve dedicated to reading these past couple months, and hope you continue reading with us in the future. All the way from Yuba, California, here’s some fun facts about Alan:

1) How did you get started with Words Alive?

I was looking for a virtual opportunity to volunteer for community service because there aren’t many options in my community. Then I found Words Alive on volunteermatch.org.

2) What has been the best book you've read with Page Turners?

The best book I’ve read is Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Hurricane Katrina happened just as I was born and this gave me an idea of what it was like, in a fictional sense.

3) How has being a Page Turner changed the way you read or think about reading?

Being a Page Turner led me to immerse myself into more book diversity. There are many available genres and several types of authors. The books cover different ethnicities, genders, and orientations.

Thank you again to Alan and all of our volunteers! Happy reading!

Julie Chen (she/her) | Page Turners Intern

[email protected] | www.wordsalive.org