Kathryn Kelly - Words Alive Volunteer of the Month - November 2016

Please join us in congratulating Kathryn Kelly – Words Alive Volunteer of the Month for November 2016!

Kathryn Kelly, University of San Diego senior, joined our team in September as the Development and Events Intern. Kathryn is incredibly organized in her approach to event management. She helped create all Social Media content for the 13th Annual Words Alive Author’s Luncheon including the beautiful slide show presentation at the event. She also helped organize in-kind donations for the raffle and silent auction. Kathryn’s ability to see what work needs to be done and accomplish the tasks at hand has been incredibly helpful in ensuring our success in raising support and awareness for Words Alive. Kathryn will complete her internship with Words Alive by helping us with our #GivingTuesday campaign. An opportunity for us to continue the excitement started at the luncheon and remind people that they can “Give the Gift of Reading” this year.

Check Out the Volunteer of the Month Interview with Kathryn Below!

Kathryn, tell us a little about yourself! 
I’m a senior at University of San Diego, where I’m majoring in Communications with double minors in Sociology and Marketing. If it wasn’t obvious by what I study, I’m definitely a people person! I get my energy from being around others and hearing their stories. When I’m not working or in class, I love hiking or being at the beach. I try to make it to the beach in some capacity at least once a week! I hope to pursue a career in corporate event planning or public relations, and interning at Words Alive has helped me take steps towards that goal.

How long have you been volunteering with Words Alive, and how did you get involved? 
I began as the Events and Development Intern at Words Alive in September.  I was initially drawn to this position because it gave me the opportunity to get experience in event planning and marketing. I loved that Words Alive works with children, teens, and families and supports a cause I care about. Half of my family is made up of teachers and principals, so education and literacy have always been close to my heart!

What is the most rewarding aspect of your volunteer service with Words Alive?
I love that I’m able to gain experience in so many different areas. I’ve been able to see how a big fundraiser is planned, what approaches are successful in marketing certain events, and the importance of relationship building in non-profit work. The most rewarding moment so far was seeing the Author’s Luncheon came together. I thought the event was such a success, and it was very rewarding to see all of the pieces fall into place. So much detail, attention, and hard work was put into the luncheon by a huge number of people, and being a small part of that team was really rewarding.

 And, by the way, what are you reading lately?
I’m currently reading a lot of textbooks, but I try to squeeze in some fun reading when I can! The book I most recently finished was Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. I loved it!

Give the Gift of Reading

On November 29, Words Alive participated in a global day of giving, #GivingTuesday. We used this day focused on charity to kick-off our holiday campaign that will continue through the end of 2016. In order to continue inspiring a life-long commitment to reading, Words Alive needs your help to give books, volunteer, or make a donation. This holiday season, help us give the gift of reading to children, teens, and families all across San Diego.

Here's how you can help:
Give Books -- Like many of you, Words Alive has a holiday wishlist! We've compiled a list of books for our literacy programs that we believe our participants will love. We've partnered with Warwick's to ensure that all listed titles are available at their La Jolla location or online at www.warwicks.com. Our office will be accepting book donations Monday through Thursday from 9am-3pm, starting now!

Volunteer -- We are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help out our organization. You'll be given the opportunity to serve on a committee, work in our office, or become part of one of our three literacy programs. To learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit our volunteer page.

Make a Donation -- Words Alive relies on your generous donations to fund our programs and community outreach. Making a donation will help support our Read Aloud, Teen Services, and Family Literacy programs and allow us to give the gift of reading throughout 2017. Help us to continue bringing our community together through literacy and show that reading matters!

Words Alive is excited to be using #GivingTuesday as a platform for kicking off our holiday campaign. We look forward to receiving books, enlisting volunteers, and generating donations throughout the rest of 2016. The impact you make now will allow us to broaden our reach in 2017. Thank you!

Lily Glasser - Words Alive Volunteer of the Month - September 2016

Please join us in congratulating Lily Glasser – Words Alive Volunteer of the Month for September 2016!

Lily attended a volunteer orientation in July, and immediately hopped on board as an office intern for the summer months.  Her passion for reading and can-do attitude are impressive, and made her an outstanding fit for the position.

Lily worked within the volunteer program to clean up data collection, to create fun and effective advertising for our volunteer opportunities and to build the content for an outreach banner.  She has quite an eye for design, and educated the staff about design programs such as Photoshop and Adobe InDesign through her work with the programs.  Lily was detailed in all of her work, and produced exceptional quality in all assigned projects. 

We have been so lucky to have your support, Lily!  Your maturity, work ethic and skill set are superior – you have such a great academic and professional future.  Thank you for all of your work this summer!

Check Out the Volunteer of the Month Interview with Lily Below!

Lily, tell us a little about yourself! 
I developed a penchant for reading, writing, and language at a young age. An avid, albeit sporadic, reader I enjoy novels, poetry, and short stories. I am currently enrolled as a high school senior, and outside of school I enjoy rowing competitively and listening to music. Through my editing position on staff of my school magazine as well as through perusing popular periodicals, I have gained an interest and appreciation for photojournalism, sensationalism, and design. I aspire to work towards achievement in the language, linguistics, and social science as I go on to pursue higher education.

How long have you been volunteering with Words Alive, and how did you get involved? 
I have been volunteering for WA since the end of July/beginning of August of 2016.

I was drawn to WA because of the organizations meaningful contributions to the community through the promotion of literacy. I first got involved with the organization through correspondence with Christina Meeker.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your volunteer service with Words Alive?
The most enjoyable aspect of my volunteer responsibilities has been being able to create designs to advertise WA; it is rewarding to know that these contributions will be able to advance the organization's reach in our community.

And, by the way, what are you reading lately?
I am currently reading Native Son by Richard Wright.

Sydney MacDonald - Words Alive Volunteer of the Month - August 2016

Please join us in congratulating Sydney MacDonald– Words Alive Volunteer of the Month for August 2016!

Sydney, like so many Words Alive volunteers, joined our family through her own friends and family.  Her mother, Andrea MacDonald, is current Words Alive board vice chair and has chaired the annual fundraising event, the Author’s Luncheon for two years.  Sydney was looking for a fun summer experience, and our office was looking for an intern – the timing was perfect!

Sydney has exuded an incredible professionalism in all of her projects.  She has assisted our staff with website maintenance and review, with donor communication around the upcoming Luncheon, with data clean-up and programmatic projects.  No matter whether the task has been entertaining or monotonous, Sydney handles everything with the utmost detail and quiet focus.

Sydney has been able to help us get organized and update our Donor Management system so that we can pull reports more efficiently. She has also helped us reach out to Raffle and Silent Auction Donors for our upcoming event. Her organization skills have helped keep the development and communications office moving this summer.

Thank you, Sydney, for giving us your time this summer and for your hard work!  We are lucky that you have shared your talents with us, among many other summer activities like teaching dance class!  We are very proud of you.  Thank you.

Check Out the Volunteer of the Month Interview with Sydney Below!

Sydney, tell us a little about yourself! 
I am 16 years old, going into my junior year of high school.  I have a passion for dancing and spend most of my time either at my dance studio or at my school's dance room. When I'm not dancing or working at Words Alive, I am at the beach with my friends or reading.

How long have you been volunteering with Words Alive, and how did you get involved? How did you first get involved with Words Alive?
I have been volunteering at Words Alive since June.  My mother has been volunteering at Words Alive for a couple of years and I have always really respected what they do.  Reading has always been a big part of my life and I love the idea of bringing it into other people's life. Since I knew I was going to have free time this summer, I thought helping out at words alive would be the perfect solution.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your volunteer service with Words Alive?
My favorite part of working at Words Alive is sending out donation requests and information sheets about the upcoming event, the annual luncheon. It is very exciting to know that I am informing new people about Words Alive and that they can see the magic of this nonprofit that I see.  The most rewarding part is when people respond to these requests.

And, by the way, what are you reading lately?
I am currently reading Mind Prey by John Sandford.

Celebrating Volunteerism: Words Alive and the San Diego Community

As Words Alive joins the nation in celebrating Volunteer Appreciation during the month of April, we thank the volunteer core that tirelessly devotes time and talent year-round to make our mission, and the work of many other organizations, possible.

San Diego is a philanthropically active community, and Words Alive is one part of the call to action.  The University of San Diego’s Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research, a partner in Words Alive program evaluations, published their State of Nonprofits in San Diego report in 2014 that cited a total of 9,364 501(c)3 nonprofits in San Diego.  The nonprofits reported represent a variety of foci including but limited to education, health, environment and animals.  Of the thousands of nonprofits reported, only 23% have paid employees – meaning the work of over 7,000 organizations is facilitated entirely by volunteer support. Of the few thousand nonprofits with paid staff, 59% have fewer than 10 employees (Words Alive included). 

The impact of San Diego’s volunteer community becomes clear – an enablement of thousands of charitable organizations to make their missions reality.  We can attest to that: our core of 550 volunteers empowers us with the ability to reach 5,000 children, teens and families each month with our programs.

Turns out, a culture of giving is not limited to San Diego.  In 2014, the State of California had the highest number of reported volunteer hours in the nation.  As if the time spent and the talent shared isn’t enough of a testament to the impact of volunteerism, the dollar value of each hour given is incredible.  In the last year alone, Words Alive volunteers have contributed over 10,000 hours toward our mission.  According to the Corporation for National & Community Service, each volunteer hour is attributed a monetary value of $26.87 (as of 2014). Since April of 2015, Words Alive volunteers have given nearly $269,000 worth in time!

On behalf of every nonprofit in San Diego, thank you for your devoted and often thankless work to ensure that we remain an aware, progressive and giving community.  You provide a model for the world of how your shared time and talent can bring such valued impact. 

Sources:

Schumann, M.J., Jones, J.A., Hunt, K., Mitchell, C., Krasynska, S., and Deitrick, L. (2014).  Annual Report:

State of Nonprofits in San Diego.  San Diego, CA: Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research, University of San Diego