Cindy Polger was one of the early supporters of Words Alive, responsible for developing the foundation of the organization that enables it to remain a vibrant and integral part of the San Diego community today.  In addition to naming the organization, Cindy is credited with helping Words Alive establish our long-standing partnership with the Lindsay Community School, a Juvenile Court and Community School through the San Diego County Office of Education, for pregnant and parenting teens.   Cindy’s dedication, and memory, is woven into every action of the organization. 

Core to all our programs is a focus on making access to books and texts a staple in all homes across San Diego. We know that students and families are more likely to read and develop healthy reading habits when age-appropriate books are accessible – and we also know that many of the children and families we serve are living in ‘book deserts.’  Over the past five years, Words Alive has spent roughly $25,000 annually to purchase the high quality, diverse titles used in our programs.  Negotiated book prices range from $2.00 for an early reader paperback title to $12.00 for a novel for teens.  In addition, we receive donations of new books to help supplement home libraries.  Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, Words Alive has distributed more than 20,000 quality books through our programs and partners to help San Diego families remain connected to the power of reading while learning from home.   

Although we do our best to negotiate rates with publishers and fundraise, we often ask our school and nonprofit partners to share in the cost of books. This is often an insurmountable barrier.  Recognizing that access to books is a critical component to the success of our programming, Words Alive established the Cindy Polger Book Fund.  This Fund allows Words Alive to lower barriers to accessing our programming by offsetting the cost of books.  These same books are sent home with students and families participating in our programs to build their home libraries and develop site libraries.