Contact Rebecca Ballenger, Assistant Director of Worlds of Words
In this last stretch towards our goal, we extend our deepest gratitude to each of you, our co-authors in continuing this program. Thanks to the generosity of 14 donors, we have raised a total of $4827 to support the Reading Ambassadors as they continue to discover, discuss, and delight in the power of literature. We continue the good news today with the announcement of a donor who will match each gift dollar-for-dollar up to $1500! Your gift would be doubled, bringing us closer to (and maybe past) our goal!
Visit crowdfund.arizona.edu/wow to make a gift.
This campaign was never just about dollars and cents. It is about the story we write together—a story where middle school and teen readers take the stage, where they meet storytellers from near and far, and where they learn to express themselves with courage, confidence, and creativity. And each of you, through your generosity, helps us turn the page toward that future.
We like to use the time-honored childhood fortunetelling game of M.A.S.H. to review the experiences we had around books each year. For this game, we list all the authors we’ve met and wonder who will tell our story. We list all the best friends we’ve met in the books we read and hope one will be ours. We do the same for the settings, our sworn enemies, our mode of transportation, and a resolution. Here’s an example:
In this example, we cross off every 6th item as per our swirl of fortune and are left with the elements of your story. S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders) will author our story set on the Santa Monica Beach (Percy Jackson). The reader follows along as we, along with our best friend Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games) struggle with our sworn enemy, Peter Hayes (Divergent). Astride Pegasus (Percy Jackson), we will defeat the Bureau (Divergent). Epic!
This year, we can add your name as our best friend living out the next chapter wherein we meet storytellers from near and far. Your support means that Reading Ambassadors can continue to meet and engage with authors from all over the world. Through virtual and in-person author events, they can ask questions, share their thoughts, and connect with storytellers whose books have moved them. The world of literature is filled with opportunities for connection. In Worlds of Words with their fellow Reading Ambassadors they can overcome obstacles in their path to sharing their love of reading. One of the most powerful outcomes of our program is watching students grow as public speakers and sharing their ideas as they host author events, lead discussions in their podcast, or presenting their insights to their peers and adults in their schools. We thank you for believing in the power of youth voices.
Through your support, the Reading Ambassadors will build a community of fellow readers who will journey with us through the many chapters of life. Please take a look at the giving levels to the left or choose your own giving adventure to consider how you could help us reach our goal. We are excited to continue this story with you.
WOW Currents is a space to talk about forward-thinking trends in global children’s and adolescent literature and how we use that literature with students. “Currents” is a play on words for trends and timeliness and the way we talk about social media. We encourage you to participate by leaving comments and sharing this post with your peers. To view our complete offerings of WOW Currents, please visit its archival stream.