by Robyn Grand, Community Engagement Manager
Words Alive is thrilled to celebrate Connie M as our February Volunteer of the Month! Connie found her way to Words Alive after retiring from a 32-year career as a deputy public defender. Her friend invited her to attend one of Words Alive’s Where the Wild Books Are service events at our office in the East Village.
“Why don’t I just hitch a ride?” Connie thought, “I went with her and I just loved the whole idea, the people. It really touched my heart.”
Ready to check out our Where the Wild Books Are service events? New dates have just been posted. Check out our upcoming dates here!
In addition to attending Where the Wild Books Are, Connie has supported other special projects for the Family Literacy Program at Words Alive.
Family Literacy Program participants read Dragons Love Tacos together.
“I was at Where the Wild Books Are discovering all the fun books that never existed when I was a kid, I was floored at how thoughtful they were!” While at the event, Connie connected with Maria Mariscal, one of the Family Literacy Program Coordinators at Words Alive. “I speak Spanish as well, and I saw the books were in English and the resource packets were in Spanish. In my conversations with Maria, she asked if I would be interested in contacting families and I said I would love that! I got involved with calling families ahead of sessions and then I got involved in interviewing Spanish, Creole, and English-speaking families who completed the program. I just enjoyed that so much! It really hit home for me.”
“This program not only exposes the kids, but opens the parents’ eyes to other ways of reading. The creativeness. Just how excited the parents are! I can see that. I mean their worlds are opening when they see the teachers teach. The fact that they can appreciate that they didn’t know these books existed! I grew up in a very humble household, my parents had to learn English, so I could just relate to their excitement. What a book did, what a world it opens and how much they appreciate it and that for me was important because it brought it all back home to me how excited I would get and how my parents would get when books were donated.”
If you’re considering volunteering with Words Alive for the first time, Connie says you should, “Just jump in! You’ll be surprised at what’s out there, this resource for kids and families who really wouldn’t have this available to them do because of Words Alive. It’s magic!”
Book FAQ
Did you have a favorite book growing up, or is there a book that has had a big impact on you?
The World Book Encyclopedia
“Growing up we really didn’t have money for books, but my father really appreciated books. He invested in The World Book Encyclopedia. To me, that was my first exposure to books. They were so beautiful with the cream colored leather, the gold inseams, I’ve never seen anything so elegant. We loved pulling them out and seeing the pictures.
Germinal by Émile Zola
Later my father would give us a quarter if we read a book. He found someone who gave us a set of Anne of Green Gables so that was the first series of things that I read for money, but I was so captivated by Anne and her adventures.
Now I’m a very eclectic reader. I love thrillers like le Carré. I just finished Germinal by Émile Zola.”
Do you have a special memory of reading with your children when they were young?
“We read to them always, since they were babies. To the Moon and Back by Sam McBratney and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. were their favorites. All of our books were on repeat, and we did a lot of invented stories. It was just part of our ritual to wind down. It was great, we have good memories.”
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
What are you currently reading, or do you have a favorite book to recommend to others?
“The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. It was so good!”