Written by Robyn Grand
This October we’re excited to recognize Mary Tibiatowski as our Volunteer of the Month!
Mary prepares to distribute Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin.
Mary joined the Words Alive family four years ago after discovering us through California Volunteers and supports multiple areas of Words Alive through her volunteer service, including Words on Wheels, our newest volunteer team. Our Words on Wheels drivers help distribute books and other literacy resources to our partners and program participants all over San Diego county. Complete our interest form to be among the first to learn about upcoming distributions!
Mary is also a regular face at our Where the Wild Books Are service events where she helps prepare Learning Kit craft activities for our classroom programs. We’ve just added new dates for these service events through the end of November! All events run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Words Alive office, located at 770 Park Blvd San Diego, CA 92101. Register here to join us at an upcoming event.
Mary (right) prepares Learning Kits at a Where the Wild Books Are service event.
During the summer months, Mary participates in the Page Turners where she reads and reviews books Words Alive is considering for classroom programming. Mary has helped Words Alive identify several books for use in our programs, including Breathing Makes it Better: A Book for Sad Days, Mad Days, Glad Days, and All the Feelings In-Between by Christopher Willard, Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky, and Fear Not! How to Face Your Fear and Anxiety Head-On! by Christina Furnival. If you’re looking for a new book to read, check out our reading list here.
When she isn’t participating in one of these impactful roles, Mary can be found in the classroom supporting the Read Aloud program. This year she is excited to be reading to four classrooms at Hamilton Elementary, an experience she intentionally sought out in her retirement.
“When my granddaughter was in school, they had what they called Family Reading Day.” Mary shared, “Since her folks worked, I would be her representative and go to the school and read. If there were kiddos who didn’t have any representation from their families, they could join our group, and it was just so much fun! I could tell that the kids loved it and looked forward to it, and got me interested in doing this as a project after I retired… I found Words Alive and it’s a perfect fit!”
Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor
When asked if she had a favorite moment from volunteering with Words Alive, Mary excitedly told me about an experience she had reading Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor, a book that explores different types of disabilities and accessibility devices, in the Read Aloud program last year.
“There was one kid in the class that always sat right up next to me but never talked. We came to stuttering in the book and there was a little rumble in the class. I asked, ‘hmm, does anyone know somebody who stutters?’ and that kid got so excited! ‘I stutter!’ he exclaimed, and he was so excited because he was in the book. It brought tears to my eyes and what I loved about it was how the class was so supportive. They were all excited because he was in the book, and he felt like a hero.”
Have you been thinking about volunteering with Words Alive? Mary has a message for you: “Do it! Do it! Do it! Sign up today!”
We couldn’t agree more, Mary!
Book Q&A
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Did you have a favorite book growing up, or is there a book that’s had a big impact on you?
I was an Anne of Green Gables girl! When I started reading Anne of Green Gables, that would be my Christmas gift, the next book in the series, and then for my birthday I would get the next book. That’s how special Anne of Green Gables was to me. It was my present.
Do you have a specific memory of reading with a caring adult from when you were a child?
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess.
My grandmother always read to us, but she, of all things, read me The Burgess Bird Book by Thornton W. Burgess. I learned to identify birds when I was in elementary school. I’m not a birder out there with my binoculars in the rain or anything, but it was another avenue of interest to me. When I see interesting birds, oftentimes I know what they are and can talk about them and that’s what I remember most.
What are you currently reading, or do you have a favorite book to recommend to others?
My favorite current book is Culpability by Bruce Holsinger it’s about the impact of culpability of AI. It’s about a car wreck in a self-driving car. I’m also reading Lost Souls Meet Under the Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura. It’s set in Japan and it’s about the people they call “go betweens” who can set up meetings between people who are still hear and people who have passed [away] and explores why do people want to see someone who has passed and do they accomplish what they thought they wanted.