Volunteer Program Manager Christina Meeker shared the mission and magic that Words Alive is doing within San Diego. Words Alive proudly serves 5,500 students and families monthly through the support of their cadre of volunteers who donate thousands of hours.
Volunteers in their Read Aloud Program read weekly in 181 classrooms from preschoolers through 3rd grade students, to connect with the joy of reading while developing cognitive and verbal skills. Their Adolescent Book Group currently engages 450 at-risk teens across 22 classrooms and has expanded to not only include book-club style discussions, but also writing sessions and developmental workshops that build language, reading fluency, and critical thinking skills.
In addition to these two initial programs, they have since developed a Family Literacy Program and the Westreich Scholarship Program. Here's a snapshot of their impact today:
- 3 core programs - Read Aloud, Teen Services & Family Literacy
- 5,725 program participants
- 5,723 literacy program sessions
- 500 + volunteers delivering over 8,800 hours
- 215 classrooms
- 22,251 books donated
- 30 collaborative partners