The Words Alive Family has parted with another dear member and volunteer, Savannah Sincoff. Savannah started as a Words Alive volunteer in 2011, and has been an amazing supporter of our mission and programs since. She attended the Author's Luncheon for five years, facilitated women's empowerment workshops for our Words Alive Westreich Scholarship students through her organization "Play 2 Create," and donated other professional services and guidance to the scholarship program.
Savannah gave selflessly and passionately. Her life was meaningfully intertwined with many others in our family. We will remember her with love, and for the significant time she gave to Words Alive. Many thanks to Savannah and her family.
79th Assembly District's 2016 Salute to Women Leaders!
79th Assembly District's 2016 Salute to Women Leaders!
Words Alive is proud to support both staff and volunteer team members who received recognition this past weekend at the 79th Assembly District's 2016 Salute-to-Women Leaders! The event is a tradition from 1987 in which women who improve the quality of life in our communities are acknowledged.
Words Alive's own Teen Services Program Manager Theresa Tolentino (left), was the recipient of the Social Service Award. Theresa adeptly manages volunteers and programs that connect 450 teens from Juvenile Court and Community Schools across the county to rich book discussions, writing programs, book ownership (often the first for many of the kids), author events, arts projects, scholarships, mentors and more. Most recently, she collaborated with teaching staff to develop a Share Your Story workshop, encouraging students to find their voice, develop a positive self-image, and hone the communication skills needed for successful writing, resumes, and interviews. Theresa is a champion of Words Alive's mission and embodies the power of service and education. We are proud to see her get recognized for all of her achievements.
Theresa is joined (right) by Words Alive volunteers Billie Greene, who was recognized in the Community Activism category, and Ethel Daniels. There were a total of 32 nominations in all.
Congratulations Theresa and Billie for a well-deserved salute to your community service and giving spirits! Thank you for your help in fulfilling our mission, to open opportunity for life success by inspiring a commitment to reading!
Words Alive Inspires Counselors During Forum
Words Alive was recently invited to participate in the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Alliance Middle & High School Counselor Forum, hosting a breakout session on volunteer and partnership prospects. As a continual effort to collaborate with like-minded organizations and institutions, Words Alive has made itself available for collaborative opportunities to provide more resources for students and families, as well as educating the community on the importance literacy plays in all aspects of our lives.
On March 8th, Operations Director, Chrissy Califf and Read Aloud Program Manager, Carter Anderson facilitated conversations with middle and high school counselors related to “needs of the whole student - academic, cognitive, social, and emotional” as part of an annual CSUSM Alliance event.
CSUSM Alliance is a community engagement cohort, ensuring students have support, connections, mentorship and a vehicle for success on campus. “CSUSM and K-12 districts in the university’s service region share a commitment to enhancing student success. With an interest in expanding and enhancing student experiences, the university and partner districts have developed a mutual agreement in which K-12 districts provide their students with a rigorous program of study and meaningful learning experiences and the university provides a guarantee of enrollment and a compendium of experiences designed to support college perseverance and success.”
It's Words Alive’s objective to discover, obtain and realize connections in the community in order to fulfill our mission in the classroom and beyond. As part of that cause, we will continue to seek avenues to present, facilitate and foster discussions about ways to join forces to tackle illiteracy within our community.
Share Your Love of Reading 2016
Words Alive's 2016 Share Your Love of Reading event was a huge success!!
VIR's (Very Important Readers) In the classrooms
Our goal was to spend the month of February sharing the importance that literacy plays in every aspect of our lives. We partnered with 24 VIR's including; Mayor Kevin Faulconer, NBA Legend Bill Walton, Retired Hall of Fame Jockey Julie Krone, The San Diego Padres' Friar and Pad Squad, The San Diego Gulls, Coucilmembers Lorie Zapf and Myrtle Cole, City Supervisior Dave Roberts, NBC's Jodi Kodesh, ABC 10News Megan Parry, Virginia Cha, Renee Nelson, Robert Santos, Brandon Lewis and many many more!
Click HERE to see more photos of the VIR's in the classrooms.
By bringing VIR's and media attention into the classroom we were able to continue our goal of "making reading matter" by showing students how reading plays a part in life success in all different pursuits and career paths.
At Words Alive, our mission is “to open opportunities for life success by inspiring a commitment to reading.” and thanks to our wonderful supporters and partners Share Your Love of Reading was able to do just that!
Media Exposure
Our Share Your Love of Reading campaign was featured on KUSI, NBC 7, ABC 10News, KPBS radio and TV,
Check out KUSI's clip on the right to see Mayor Kevin Faulconer at Golden Hill Elementary on February 19th.
Click HERE to view the addition clips from our media partners
#Shelfies 2016
In addition to our Share Your Love of Reading classroom involvement, during the month of February we also had a "share a #shelfie" campaign to raise donations and awareness to the importance of literacy.
Thanks to a generous donation from SDG&E Words Alive received $1 for every #shelfie that was posted from the community.
Below are just a handful of the fun and creative #shelfies that we received this year!
Thank you to all of the wonderful individuals and VIR's that spent time sharing your love of reading this year and helping to make a difference in peoples lives through reading!
Words Alive & Warwick's - Authors In The Community
Continuing our efforts to "make reading matter" in our community, Words Alive is proud to partner with Warwick's Books to present exciting authors and literary icons in 2016. Join us this spring as we welcome Amy Cuddy and Bill Walton, as they discuss and sign their new books!
Stay tuned for more Author's and events to be announced soon!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Bill Walton
Warwick's and Words Alive present San Diego's own NBA MVP, Hall of Famer, and Award-Winning Broadcaster Bill Walton as he discusses and signs his new book, Back From The Dead.
Who: Bill Walton
When: Monday March 28th @ 7:00pm
Where: The Sherwood Auditorium @ MCASD. Click here for directions.
Tickets: $29.16 - One admission & one copy of the book;
$39.16 - Two Admissions & one copy of the book.
Click here to purchase tickets.
Book: Back From the Dead
This inspiring memoir from sports and cultural icon Bill Walton recounts his devastating injuries and amazing recoveries, set in the context of his UCLA triumphs under John Wooden, his storied NBA career, and his affinity for music and the Grateful Dead.
Fine Print: Doors open at 6:15pm. Seating is first come first served
Save the date June 26th, 2016
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer has made her mark, combining compassionate advocacy with scrappiness in a political
career spanning more than three decades. Now, retiring from the Senate, she continues the work to which she's dedicated 30 years in Congress. Her memoir, THE ART OF TOUGH, shares her provocative and touching recollections of service, and cements her commitment to the fight for women, families, quality, environmental protection, all in a peaceful world.
Leading In The Community By Teaching Others
If we truly want to MAKE READING MATTER in San Diego, we have to cast the program net wide, and that requires sharing best practices and contributing to coordinated community solutions around literacy.
January was a big month for Words Alive in that regard.
Project Concern International - California Border Healthy Start Project
Just after the New Year, we were asked to provide a training for the home-visiting staff of Project Concern International’s California Border Healthy Start Project. In their program model, staff visit under-served families at home, serving as a key connection between parents and resources to increase family stability. PCI reached out to Words Alive looking for a professional development opportunity that would better equip home-visiting staff with tools and strategies to support parents in building habits of reading aloud daily to their children. Thirty-four staff members from PCI spent an afternoon in rich-discussion and hands-on practice. Attendees described the training as “creative, motivating and informative”, and reported leaving better prepared for the task at hand.
As reported by the programs director, Lisa Bain, following are some results of the enthusiasm inspired by the training:
A literacy work group was established to keep the issue a priority in our programs and has organized a client event to celebrate World Read Aloud day in February
Data collection forms were revised to capture a broader understanding of literacy (e.g. not just reading books)
PCI is joining the San Diego Council on Literacy
National Literacy Month has been added to the office’s planning calendar
Home visiting staff have expressed positive feedback from clients when using books as a regular part of their home visits
DEEP - The Power of Play
More recently, Words Alive took a lead role as co-facilitator in a full-day professional development
training for home-based child care in the Diamond Community of southeast San Diego. Child care providers licensed to take care of children in their home are an integral part of the survival pie for working parents and, often, a child’s first experience with a learning environment outside the home.
In response to community feedback, the 0-5 working group of the Diamond Education Excellence Partnership identified supporting providers as an important early strategy to helping children arrive at kindergarten prepared to learn. A strong example of coordinated effort, partners from Words Alive, San Diego Public Library-READ, Malcolm X Library, YMYCA CRS, SDSU Department of Early and Family Development came together to provide meaningful strategies around the Power of Play and ways to integrate literacy into all parts of a child’s day. Attendees are already signing up for the 2nd and 3rd installments of the series!
Please find the flyer from the event on January 23rd to the left.
2015 was busy but we promise to make 2016 even busier, by reaching out into the community and leading the charge to open opportunities for life success by inspiring a commitment to reading!
Making Reading Matter - Changing Lives!
In loving memory of a champion of Words Alive - Cindy Polger
Today we celebrate our incredible fortune to have been touched, deeply, in all aspects of our organization, by Cindy Polger. As a board member, guiding the growth and vision of Words Alive, as an ABG volunteer and site manager, bringing the joy of reading to hundreds of San Diego teens, and as a staunch supporter, ensuring the mission of Words Alive to reach countless families in our community, Cindy's participation and outspoken championship of our (her) work will be sorely missed as we move forward. While we are deeply saddened by her passing, we are equally uplifted by her presence for the last 16 years. We can say, without a doubt, that lives have truly been changed because of Cindy's involvement.
Click the image below to find her obituary.
