2023 Language Accessibility Volunteer of the Year: Esther Kim

Profile Written by: Ben Hollingshead, Volunteer

The Words Alive 2023 Language Accessibility Volunteer of the Year awardee Esther Kim is a gifted translator and editor who works on translating Words Alive reading kits from English to Korean.

Originally from Daegu, South Korea, Esther’s family moved to northern Virginia when she was very young. While Esther finds it hard to pinpoint what sparked her interest in reading, she knows it started when she immigrated to the United States. “At a time of drastic transition from one place to another (and from one language to another), I often found solace in literature.” Esther found immersing herself in the world of the characters in the novels to be a comforting and enriching experience that sustained and reinvigorated her. After high school, she went to Georgetown University for her undergraduate degree in Accounting and Japanese, and she spent a few years after graduating in public accounting. She is enjoying a gap year before she attends Columbia Law School this fall.

Esther found Words Alive on Volunteer Match as she was looking to work on something meaningful during her gap year. Since she started to volunteer with Words Alive in July 2022, she has completed nine translations and edited four translated drafts. In talking about what her volunteer work means to her, Esther shared that she gets a lot of joy and fulfillment knowing that the work she does as a translator is shared with Korean families in San Diego, families who share her background and upbringing. Esther believes that “reading is one of the best ways to immerse in the lives of others while appreciating the beauty of language. I volunteer with Words Alive to help cultivate a love for literature and reading among students and their families.”

This extraordinary volunteer loves to ski in her spare time, is a massive fan of the X-Games, and listens to Japanese rock. Esther, thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on winning the Language Accessibility Volunteer of the Year!

Book Recommendation: Esther is currently reading Island by Aldous Huxley. Some of her other recommendations include: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Words Alive Reader: January 20, 2021

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!

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

Farmers is Matching the Next $5,000 Raised

A graphic that says “Become a Champion for Words Alive This Winter!” above the Champions for Youth logo.

Just announced: Farmers Insurance will be matching the next $5,000 we raise in our campaign! This means that if you give now, your gift will go farther than ever. Not only will a $10 donation become $20, it will also move us ahead in the competition for up to $40,000 in bonus funding from The Century Club of San Diego and Farmers Insurance.

Since December, 22 incredible champions have already helped us engage 253 donors, raising $20,000 of our $30,000 goal! We have two weeks left to raise as much as we can. Donate today to take advantage of the match and make the biggest impact with your gift.

Melinda Wynar, Community Champion

We're proud to announce that Melinda Wynar, one of our volunteers, has recently been recognized by Molina Healthcare as a Community Champion for her leadership and service to our community! Over the last 6 years, Melinda has been a dedicated volunteer for many different Words Alive initiatives, from the Read Aloud Program to the Authors Auction, and her commitment to her community continues to shine through her actions every day. We're so grateful for Melinda! Read more about her in our most recent blog post.

Volunteers Needed: Work Directly with Families and Kids!

A screenshot of one of our programs taking place over Zoom.

Interested in working directly with families and young students? Sign up to help with the Family Literacy Program! Beginning in February, we need small group facilitators to lead activities with families in breakout rooms, English/Spanish bilingual lead facilitators, and volunteers experienced with Zoom to support facilitators and participants during the sessions. Help families build healthy reading habits through sharing and exploring stories together! Email our Volunteer Coordinator, Robyn Grand, if you are interested.

Learning Kits for Monarch School

An image of the supplies going into the kits: colored pencils, scissors, glue sticks, erasers, and more.

We're partnering with Monarch School to create and deliver 350 learning kits to their students! Monarch is a wonderful school here in San Diego that exclusively serves youth experiencing homelessness. 

As part of an all-school reading initiative focused on mental health and well-being students from all grades will receive books and activities, including a guide on how to talk, write, and connect about what they are reading with their families. They will also receive supplies to participate in our upcoming Art & Lit project! We are excited to be working with such a wide range of ages to extend our programming across the whole school. 

Want to support even more students with at-home learning? We need volunteers based in San Diego to help us assemble crafts that accompany the stories children are reading! Email our Volunteer Coordinator, Robyn Grand, to learn more. 

Help Us Provide Books to San Ysidro High School

The covers of the books The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt, Internment by Samira Ahmed, and The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by West More.

Last week, we officially started an exciting partnership between San Ysidro High School and Words Alive! We are training educators at the school to (virtually) implement Adolescent Book Group at their campus. Through this partnership, we will be engaging 350 high school students with a book-club style discussion of three powerful novels: The Radius of Us, Internment, and The Other Wes Moore.

In order for us to give books to all of the students, we still need 175 copies of each of the three titles. If you would like to provide a high schooler with books they can read, love, and take home to keep, click here. We thank you for your support!

Join Words Alive at This Year’s SDIJFF

A graphic that says “31st annual SDIJFF: February 11-21, 2021; screenings from the comfort of your home.”

Words Alive is excited to announce that we are a community partner for the 31st Annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival. This year’s festival will include not only over 36 films to enjoy virtually, but also more than 20 on-demand films available from February 11-21, 2021, all from the comfort of your own home. By using our code WORDS21, you can get $2 off an individual ticket purchase at lfjcc.org/film. Invite your friends and family for 11 days of film celebration and festivities. We hope to see you there!

Donate here to support Words Alive!

The Words Alive Reader: November 16th, 2020

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!

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 and Titiksha, Words Alive Storytelling Team

Processing the Election With the Power of Writing

Red, blue, and purple word bubbles made of paper spell “Be The Change.”

In our last edition of The Words Alive Reader, we shared about the launch of our virtual Read Aloud Program — we now have 33 classrooms participating! This week, we want to share something else we've been working hard on: Write Now, a digital space for teens to cope and connect with current events through writing.

As emotions run high over everything that's going on in our country right now, we're highlighting several of our Write Now prompts that feel especially fitting for this moment. Use them with your students or children, or try them for yourself. We hope that they empower everyone to reflect and respond in healthy ways to current events. 

Explore positive ways to respond to the news, remember to take a self-compassion news break, and, finally, think about ways to be the change you wish to see in the world.

2020 Authors Event & Fundraiser: Success!

Screenshots of Ayad Akhtar, Dr. Seth Lerer, and an image of Homeland Elegies. Text reads: “Annual Authors Event — Featuring Ayad Akhtar in conversation with Dr. Seth Lerer.”

With an entirely new, online format, this year's Annual Authors Event and Fundraiser was an adventure for all of us! We are grateful for everyone who came together to make this event a success.

More than 250 attendees joined us from all over the country, raising $77,000 to connect children, teens, and families to the power of reading. It brought us so much joy to see our community come together in this way.

If you missed the event, don't worry! You can still support us by purchasing access to the prerecorded conversation between Seth and Ayad through the end of 2020. Thank you for supporting Words Alive! 

Write Now with Susan Meissner

A picture of Susan Meissner in front of posters of her books.

Susan Meissner is an acclaimed author, a San Diego local, a Words Alive volunteer, AND one of the authors in this year's Authors Auction! At our latest Write Now workshop for teen writers, brought to you by Words Alive and the San Diego Public Library, she had plenty of advice for aspiring writers, especially when it comes to tackling the familiar enemy known as writers’ block. “It’s kind of like when you go into a pool, or the ocean, and the water is kind of cold, but stay in it, and your body finally acclimates,” she said. It’s all about persistence!

Find the full workshop, along with other exclusive videos from published authors, on our website!

Plot Twist: Logan Holland

A picture of Logan Holland.

Our volunteers come from all different kinds of backgrounds, proving that great books impact us all. Take Logan Holland, for example: a graduate student in biology at UC San Diego. The lessons she draws from her favorite books go hand-in-hand with her studies. As Logan puts it, “I wanted to understand humans biochemically, and then figuratively with literature.”

To read more about Logan’s unique perspective on the intersection of science and literature, and learn why she volunteers with Words Alive, check out Plot Twist, our new blog series! Keep an eye out for more stories in the future on the Words Alive blog.

Join the Words Alive Page Turners!

Graphic illustrating the “Life Cycle of a Page Turners Book.” Through Page Turners, new books are (1) discovered, (2) read, (3) reviewed, and (4) loved by our program participants!

We launched Page Turners in January so volunteers could help us choose the books we read with our students. Since then, more than 600 volunteers have joined Page Turners, contributing nearly 1,900 hours of service! This has allowed us to add 30 new books into our programming, with the knowledge that students will be engaging with high-quality titles our Page Turners have already read and loved. Some of our students at Monarch School are even reviewing books for Page Turners! Through this program, they're taking ownership of what they read in a very tangible way.

Are you interested in joining a community of passionate readers who are helping us read and review books? Visit our website to learn more.

Donate here to support Words Alive!

Plot Twist: Logan Holland

Welcome to our new 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.

A picture of Logan.

Meet Logan Holland, one of our awesome Words Alive volunteers! Logan is currently a graduate student at UC San Diego studying mitochondria and the heart, and she is a passionate and dedicated supporter of our mission. We sat down with Logan to talk about the surprising connection between science and literature, the role of books in her own life, and why she volunteers with Words Alive.

Logan joined us in 2018, during her second year of college. She was feeling unfulfilled in her undergraduate science classes—“like I needed more words and literature in my life,” she puts it—so she did a Google search and discovered Words Alive. She started out as an ABG and Art & Lit volunteer and has gone on to support us in many different roles since!

Logan's current favorite book, Bone Light by Orlando White.

“Literacy definitely impacts every single facet of everyday life,” she says, describing how literacy factors into civic engagement, navigating the healthcare system, and developing critical thinking skills (“becoming a better human!” as Logan puts it). And at Words Alive, she says, “Everyone is super passionate about reading and really spreading reading as not just a hobby, but as something that can really further education, further people’s opportunities, further people’s futures. That’s why I’ve stayed and tried to get involved as much as I can.”

In addition to the importance of basic literacy skills, she's passionate about the power of story to change lives. “Everything I did in college is because of books that I read as a kid,” she explains, “which is why I want to work with this organization.”

Words have held an important role in Logan’s own life ever since she was little, a book-loving kid reading for hours to pass the time while her parents worked. But until she began volunteering with Words Alive, she didn't fully appreciate how far books have gotten her. “Only one of my parents went to college, so I did not have this strong academic upbringing,” she says. But today, as a graduate student, she concludes: “I think the only reason I’m here is because I was reading a lot of books.”

““Doctors are interacting with humanity in a pretty raw form, right? Literature is doing the same thing, but just in a different way. It’s just really getting into what makes us human.””

The books that she read inspired her to explore the connection between science and stories with a major in biochemistry and a minor in literature and writing. “I like to think of myself as a double major at heart,” she says. “I wanted to understand humans biochemically, and then figuratively with literature.”

Her passion for exploring the human condition eventually led her to the field of medicine. “Doctors are interacting with humanity in a pretty raw form, right?” Logan points out. “Literature is doing the same thing, but just in a different way. It’s just really getting into what makes us human.”

She points to the framework of narrative medicine as an example. In narrative medicine, clinicians are trained to see illness, diagnosis and treatment as a story. “They’re having doctors read books and take creative writing classes to foster that empathy because that is super important in clinical practice, but also everyday life,” she explains. Logan sees this as evidence that stories are vital for helping us connect with and understand each other more deeply. “The more books we can get everyone reading, the better,” she declares. And through her work with Words Alive, she’s helped us do just that.

A screenshot from our Zoom conversation with Logan.

Since the pandemic hit, Logan has really taken leadership in training other volunteers to make an impact in this new virtual environment. She’s always enthusiastic and eager to help others understand the impact of the work they’ll be doing—she even recruited her roommate to start writing curriculum for us!

Throughout this experience, she has been surprised and encouraged by the amount of people who have stepped up to help. “It has been really amazing to work with Sara [our Communications Manager] and just recruit a lot more people because I think the more people helping, the bigger the better, the bigger the impact,” she says. She misses seeing the results of her work in person, but until then, she says, “I really hope that Words Alive can keep using the power of the internet to spread their message and recruit more volunteers.”

Of all the many hats she’s worn at Words Alive, from helping with Art & Lit to translating literacy sessions in Barrio Logan to virtually training other volunteers, writing curriculum is her favorite. Through her time volunteering in classrooms before COVID-19, she saw firsthand how good curriculum impacted the students she worked with; well-written questions got them engaged with a story, excited about a character or passionate about a cause.

A student speaks about the 2019 Art & Lit project, “The Radius of All of Us.”

She remembers one Art & Lit experience in particular, when she was able to see the impact of the book The Radius of Us on one of the students. “He gave a speech of gratitude of how much this book changed his perception of the world,” Logan says, smiling. “That is my favorite memory. To see that impact in one person was very, very cool.” 

Knowing that the questions she writes can lead to such powerful reactions is why she loves curriculum writing so much. “I’m just writing words on my computer at home,” she says, “but people are interacting with these words and they’re becoming ideas, or passions, or career choices—which is my life story.”

Logan, we’re so grateful for the time and energy you dedicate to bringing the power of words to our community. Thank you for sharing your story with us!

The Words Alive Reader: September 9, 2020

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!

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.

- Eli and Titiksha, Words Alive Volunteers

Back to School!

A young girl smiles and holds a backpack. Text above the photo reads, “Reagan got her Words Alive backpack! She is so excited!”

As schools begin to re-open, we want to remind you that Words Alive is here to help! Even through unprecedented challenges, we were able to serve 3,280 students and families last school year, and we will continue to do so while adapting our programming into virtual or hybrid models. 

One of our core values is responsiveness. We are dedicated to listening to community needs and developing innovative solutions. Would you like to help us as we journey into new adventures this school year? Sign up for one of our Virtual Best Practices Trainings to learn all the skills you need to volunteer in remote classrooms!

New Story Station Conductors!

Pictures of Sandy, Jim, and Gina reading aloud on Story Station!

We've been hosting Words Alive Story Station on Facebook Live every week day since the pandemic hit to spread joy, and engage our little learners with fun and inspiring stories that the whole family can enjoy. Now, we're happy to welcome new Story Station Conductors to our team!

Volunteers Sandy, Jim, and Gina are positive reading role models to the 10,000+ kids, families, and classrooms that viewed their Story Station videos in just their first week as Conductors. Join us for Story Station at 2 p.m. PT every weekday on Facebook Live: @WordsAliveSD.

Creative Collaborations!

A screenshot from of one of our Zoom trainings!

By the end of September, we will have trained seven community organizations to deliver the three Words Alive core programs! By providing training, curriculum, books, and supplies, we're making sure that organizations like United Way of San Diego, City Heights CDC, Project Concern International, Groundwork San Diego, Oceanside Public Library, and more are able to connect 300 students in their communities to the power of reading.

Another one of our values is collaboration and in these extraordinary times, we need to support one another more than ever. Help support our efforts to train even more organizations by donating today! 

The Life Cycle of a Page Turners Book

An infographic that displays the life cycle of a Page Turners book: from UNKNOWN to UPLIFTING. (1) a stack of books with a question mark; (2) a girl reading (3) a girl typing at her laptop (4) a girl hugging a stack of books.

Since January, our volunteer-led, ever-growing Page Turners community has helped us identify a whopping 28 books that reflect our students' lived experiences to include in Words Alive programming. How does it work?

1. A new and promising book is brought to our attention.

2. Page Turners read and let us know if it's a good fit for our students.

3. Books that receive multiple glowing reviews are passed on to our Curriculum Crew, volunteers who produce high-quality curriculum guides for the book.

4. Curriculum is taught in partner schools and sites, introducing students to empowering, entertaining, and engaging books that they can relate to, igniting their love of reading and setting them up for success!

Want to join the Page Turners community? Sign up here! 

Donate Here to Support Words Alive!

The Words Alive Reader: August 12, 2020

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!

This newsletter, in addition to our blog and social media content, is written by a cohort of volunteers! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? Email Robyn, our Volunteer Coordinator. 

#GreatSanDiegoBookGiveaway

An image of a young child wearing a face mask and holding up a sign that says “I’m a Summer Super Reader!”

If you're reading this newsletter, you probably know that books are essential in supporting a young child's growth. We also know that too many children from underserved communities in San Diego are at home without books of their own during this pandemic. Words Alive, the Molina Foundation, the San Diego Council on Literacy, and the San Diego Public Library all came together this past week for The Great San Diego Book Giveaway, a campaign that resulted in 325 families (all of whom participated this spring in the remote version of our programming) taking home brand-new books for the entire family to enjoy!

Learn more about the event here on our blog and donate to help children and families build their home libraries!

Readers in the Heights

An image of Readers in the Heights resources: a book, reading guide, and craft supplies.

For the 5th year in a row, we’ve partnered with United Way of San Diego for Readers in the Heights, a collaborative effort between multiple San Diego organizations to engage families in weekly literacy and self-expression activities to help prevent the summer slide. This year, the program is more important than ever due to COVID-19 and the learning losses expected from transitions to distance learning. This is exactly why we’ve partnered with the staff from the Karen Organization and City Heights CDC to deliver our tested programming to families. 

Even more exciting! Programming is taking place in five languages including Karen and Burmese. Do you want to help us translate our resources into different languages? Take a look at our new virtual volunteer opportunities!​

Upcoming (Virtual) Events:

Celebrating 100 Days of Words Alive Story Station! Watch on Facebook Live @WordsAliveSD every day at 2 pm PT/5 pm ET.

Special Novel Ideas Tour!

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of our Novel Ideas interactive online gallery on Tues, 8/18 from 3:00-3:30 p.m. Sign up here. 

100th Day of Story Station!

TOMORROW marks the 100th day of Story Station! We have been hosting daily read alouds since the pandemic hit to spread joy, and engage our little learners with fun and inspiring stories. In July alone, Story Station reached 38,000+ people! Join us for our 100th Story Station at 2 p.m. PT tomorrow, August 12th, on Facebook Live. ​​​​​​​

Trending on #QuaranTEENS:

#QuaranTEENS: Prompts to cope with COVID & lessons from the news.

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS, our online platform helping teens navigate and cope with the COVID-19 crisis and distance learning through reading and writing:

1. Pandemic Podcast

2. The Coronavirus in Six Words

3. Just Breathe

Donate Here to Support Words Alive!

Thank you, Scatena Daniels!

Scatena Daniels is a San Diego-based PR firm that helps companies and organizations showcase why what they do matters. As it says on their website:

We believe your story matters. We'll tell your story in a way that resonates with your ideal customers and leaves a lasting impression.

Words Alive was thrilled to be selected for Scatena Daniels’s The Resilience Project. As COVID-19 hit our communities, Scatena Daniels was at the forefront supporting their philanthropy-focused clients as they worked hard to serve the San Diego County community. They recognized the need for non-profits to adjust their operations during “stay-at-home” orders, and recognized that they could help.

The Resilience Project was a scholarship program providing up to five (5) hours of strategic guidance with a high-level plan as a takeaway. Their hope was to find organizations that have a true spirit of resilience. We are beyond thankful that they chose Words Alive!

Over the past few months, we’ve been meeting with the team from Scatena Daniels, introducing them to Words Alive and talking through the challenges we’ve faced with is comes to communications, PR, and media. We are so thrilled with the high-level strategic communications plan they’ve delivered to us. With this plan, we know we can spread the word about Words Alive far and wide meaning we can connect even more children, teens, and families to the power of reading.

Thank you, Scatena Daniels, for your incredible support of Words Alive and the entire San Diego community.

If you are, or if you know of an PR professionals looking to volunteer time to a great cause, please email us!

Page Turner of the Month: August 2020

Page Turners are a HUGE help to Words Alive. You help us identify diverse, engaging, and inspiring books to include in our curriculum! In thanks, we have decided to celebrate a Volunteer of the Month to show our appreciation. In August, our first-ever Page Turner of the Month is…

Jazmyn!

Jazmyn has read and reviewed nine books for Page Turners, and is in the process of reading two more! Two of the books she's read have already been migrated to our Adolescent Book Group Curriculum. We asked Jazmyn some questions about her time as a Page Turner:

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

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

Why did you start reading books with Page Turners and why do you continue?

I needed service hours for the National Junior Honor Society and I love reading and realized once my service time ended, I still wanted to keep on reading these books taking myself out my comfort zone with some of the topics/genres I was reading.

How has being a Page Turner helped you?

It's given me access to books I never would have thought of and forced me to think about things I can change going on in my world.

You can sign up to become a Page Turner right here!

Books Connect Us: June 19, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Books Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Novel Ideas!

For the past few months, you’ve been following the journey of Words Alive’s adaptations to support youth and families through social distancing. Today we are proud to showcase some of the extraordinary work that has come from this turbulent time. 

Novel Ideas is an interactive online gallery of student voices powered by their connection to words, reading, writing, and art. Novel Ideas showcases work from more than 400 students exploring themes of student activism, social distancing, and a love of reading.

We invite you to a docent-led ‘tour’ (via Zoom) of the exhibit to hear stories of these incredible students at such a remarkable time. Sign up for a tour here.

Words Alive + University of California San Diego!

Virtual and remote volunteers are stepping up to support Words Alive in amazing ways during social distancing.

We recently partnered with the Center for Student Involvement at the University of California San Diego to host a two-week long volunteer-a-thon. Students participated in service projects enhancing our curriculum, translating materials to reach more communities, and outreach to help connect with more teachers and families. We want to extend a special thank you to the Words Alive volunteers who also facilitated each project!

 If your company or group are looking for virtual service opportunities, please contact Robyn.

New Curriculum Books!

Words Alive launched the Page Turners program last fall so volunteers could help review and identify which books we should read with our students. We are excited to announce the first books to be moved from our Page Turners reading list into our process to develop curriculum so the books can be used in our programs: Islandborn by Junot Díaz, Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor, Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes, and Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles. Thank you to all of the Page Turners who read and reviewed these titles!

 Over 100 Page Turners are helping us decide which books should be taught in our classroom programming! Interested in joining? Click here.

Upcoming (Virtual) Events

Join us for these stories on Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

6/22: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

6/23: Pass It On! by Marilyn Sadler

6/24: The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

6/25: I'm Not a Chair! by Ross Burach

6/27: Special Friday surprise!

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1. Book Cover Challenge

2. Create a Playlist 

3. Storytelling to Make Sense of the World

Donate Here to Support Words Alive's COVID-19 Response!

Celebrating Our Incredible Volunteers

An screenshot of many (but not all!) of the volunteers who attended our 11th annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration. Many are holding a glass up in cheers.

Here at Words Alive, we were so excited to celebrate our volunteers during the 11th Annual Words Alive Volunteer Appreciation Celebration. Although this event looked very different than it did in the past (it was our first ever virtual event!), we were so honored that 60+ volunteers joined us to celebrate their accomplishments over the past year. Words Alive is volunteer founded and volunteer led, and we could not do the work we do without them. Thank you, volunteers!

If you missed the event, you can see the recording here! Without further ado, here are our award winners.

Volunteer of the Year: Karen Malin

An image of Karen leading fellow volunteers in a social emotional learning workshop!

Karen orchestrates remarkable classroom-based experiences, not only in person when she’s in the classroom, but behind the scenes spending countless hours writing and enhancing curriculum and helping train other volunteers on how to incorporate the best teaching practices into their work. She’s the very first person who steps up when there’s an opportunity to help.

For 5 years, she has served as a revered watchdog to ensure the impact our volunteers make in the classroom is front-and-center at our fundraising events and community gatherings. And she serves as an advocate and voice on behalf of our growing network of volunteers as one of the newest members to our Board of Directors.

Corporate Volunteer of the Year: HP Inc.

An image of two of our scholars showing off their new HP laptops.

Marvin Gross, Head of Emerging Solutions in Business, and Words Alive volunteer and mentor, Ben Gamboa, worked together to submit an HP grant to benefit Words Alive, which resulted in a $6,000 gift and new laptops for our scholars. They also facilitated a computer literacy workshop for the scholars, which provided helpful essential information for our students navigating college and first-time computer ownership. We still hear that they utilize the tools from the workshop.

Leadership Volunteer of the Year: Hiring Committee

The hiring committee had the immense responsibility of bringing our new Executive Director, Rachael Orose, to Words Alive. Programs Director Amanda Bonds worked intimately alongside Danny Cung, Jeffrey Goldman, Al Goodman, Kay Gurtin, Lisa Kalal, Sandra Korwek, Leslye Lyons, Andrea MacDonald, and Karen Silberman. Putting the right leader in place is an enormous responsibility and one that perhaps has a greater lasting effect than any other singular act of service at an organization. This team nailed it and we are indebted to their efforts!

Family Literacy Program Volunteer of the Year: Peggy Ratner

A screenshot of Peggy holding up her award at the virtual volunteer celebration.

Peggy has served as a translator in the program for three years and has helped countless parents connect to the power of reading in the learning language most comfortable for them. About 50% of families in the program speak Spanish and providing ideas and encouragement in that home language can make the difference between coming to hear a story and embracing that habit at home for themselves. Every teaching artist Peggy has worked alongside in the program has sung her praises anew and we couldn’t do this work without her! Thank you, Peggy!

Read Aloud Program Volunteer of the Year: Hema Lall

An image of Hema passing out books to students.

Hema shares her love of reading through engaging read-aloud sessions with preschool students, and recently added a 1st grade class to her schedule. She goes above and beyond for her students. During the winter book giveaway, she read Flat Stanley and the Very Big Cookie and brought the words alive when she gave students gingerbread cookies to decorate after they read the book together. In addition to her commitment in the classroom, Hema volunteers for special events – most recently at the Farmers Insurance Open through Champions for Youth, where she helped over 70 kindergarten students pick new books to take home! Thank you, Hema, for your dedication and hard work!

Mentor of the Year: Sarah Beauchemin (written by her mentee of three years, Lexi Martinez)

A screenshot of Sarah from the virtual volunteer celebration.

I wanted to take a moment and recognize one of the most inspiring and essential people in my life. I met Sarah almost three years ago in a little café and with our mutual love of cats and finding new adventures, I knew instantly that this was a serendipitous match. Sarah’s constant support has gotten me through academic and personal hardships but knowing that she was always on my side has helped me prevail over any obstacle.

A little tradition that Sarah and I have is that for our monthly meetings, we never go to the same place twice. This has encouraged us to get to know each other’s interests and develop new ones together. Although each one has been memorable in their own way, the ones that stand out at the moment are when we went to an improv comedy show, a Picnic at the park, and the Haunted Trails at Balboa. I often return to these memories when I am struggling and need a boost of positivity.

I have learned so much about myself and what I am capable in thanks to Sarah’s constant optimism for my future and I just want to thank you so much for always being there for me. I feel so fortunate to have you in my life and part of me is upset that I a m graduating because I loved sharing my academic experiences with you but, I know that this bond that we have nurtured for all these years will still be strong even after I walk the stage for graduation.

I want nothing more than to see you succeed in anything you choose to do and I know that I have relied on you for support throughout all of these years, but I hope that you know that I am also a support system to you and I would drop anything to help you. I don’t think anyone is more worthy of this magnificent recognition and thank you so much for being such a kind and amazing person to me. I hope to one day be as resilient and inspiring as you. I appreciate you completely.

Virtual Volunteer of the Year: Zoe Wong

A screenshot of Zoe from the virtual volunteer celebration.

This is a new award given in light of the immense amount of online support we’ve received in the last two months from volunteers all over the country. Zoe is supporting us from Northern California and stood out immediately for her reliability and consistency. Zoe helps us write and schedule social media and not only is she a great writer, but she has the attention to detail that the projects need. In addition, Zoe has submitted numerous prompts for our QuaranTEENS online resource page and has helped to edit videos for our Kids Reading to Kids series. We’re so thankful for the time and energy Zoe has put into volunteering for our organization at such a turbulent time.

Adolescent Book Group Volunteer of the Year: Bernadette Delaney

A screenshot of Bernadette from the virtual volunteer celebration.

In her time as a volunteer, Bernadette has been enthusiastic to innovate and try new things. She has facilitated Adolescent Book Group in an all-boys class for students on probation, piloted the program with an independent study class, and supported our venture into the middle grades. Adolescent Book Group inspires teens facing extraordinary circumstances with books they can relate to, and it takes a special dedication to draw these students into the books and discussion.

This year, Bernadette facilitated a notoriously rowdy class of homeless 6th grade students. “My students are reading in a different way than they did in the past,” the classroom teacher shared. “They’re engaged.”

Talking to Bernadette is like being wrapped in your mom’s hug–she’s always nurturing, positive and warm– something that these kids so desperately need!

Curriculum Volunteer of the Year: Mary Weatherup

An image of Mary standing in front of Shakespeare & Co.

Words Alive curriculum guides, particularly for our Adolescent Book Group Program, are often more than 20 pages long and can take 30 or more hours to write. In the last year, Mary has written three of these guides, more than anyone else by far. Mary is very reliable and is an excellent writer. Whenever there are curriculum tasks to be done, Mary is often the first person to jump at the chance to help. We are so thankful for her passion and thoughtfulness when it comes to providing students and teachers with the resources they need!

Student Volunteer of the Year: Annika Schafer

A screenshot of Annika from the virtual volunteer celebration.

Annika started her journey at Words Alive on our curriculum team and has a real talent for analyzing books and coming up with excellent thought-provoking questions and prompts. Beyond that, Annika has helped us organize spreadsheets that make our curriculum production easier as well as other critical behind-the-scenes work in the office. She is thorough, communicative, and proactive and always produces high-quality work. Annika goes to college in Massachusetts but still manages to find time to help Words Alive. We’re so thankful for her time and dedication.

Office Volunteer of the Year: Melissa Levin

A screenshot of Melissa from the virtual volunteer celebration.

Melissa has been volunteering for Words Alive for the past year and brings her enthusiasm to everything she does. In addition to volunteering in the Read Aloud Program with 1st and 2nd graders, Melissa volunteers in the office to support our staff by preparing projects and materials for various programs, including the 2020 Art & Lit project. Melissa takes on challenging projects and is always happy to support Words Alive, our staff, and her fellow volunteers. We are proud to present Melissa with this year's Words Alive Office Volunteer of Year award! Thank you, Melissa!

Partner of the Year: HandsOn San Diego

A screenshot of Jessie from the virtual volunteer celebration.

HandsOn San Diego is an organization that works tirelessly to connect volunteers to opportunities in their communities! This past year we have hosted more book sorting and crafting events with HandsOn San Diego than ever before and have had a record number of volunteers join our organization after discovering us through HandsOn. Here to accept the award is Jessie Case, Volunteer Engagement Coordinator for HandsOn San Diego.

Rookie of the Year: Lita Kleger

A screenshot of Lita from the virtual volunteer celebration.

Lita Kleger began volunteering with Words Alive in August. Since then, Lita has supported the Adolescent Book Group, bringing books alive for teenagers facing extraordinary circumstances such as homelessness, violence, teen pregnancy, and impact by the justice system. Lita's passion for serving her community is evident from your first conversation with her-- and she excitedly takes on new projects and supports other volunteers in the process.

Thank you to our 380+ volunteers for making the work we do possible! You are inspiring a love of reading throughout our community! Learn more about our virtual volunteer opportunities here.