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January begins with New Years Resolutions and that means folks looking for ways that they can make the world a better place. At Learning Ally, we always see an increase of interest in volunteering and an uptick in new people joining our programs. You'll likely see some new names and faces in group chats, at Office Hours meetings, and on the Facebook group. Be sure to say hello and welcome them to the Learning Ally family.
Do note however, that we are still working to balance our intake of volunteers with the projects that we need to produce. On the updated volunteer interest page you'll find a concise breakdown of current needs and volunteer roles. If you've got a friend or family member interested in volunteering and you think they'd be a good match, send them a link and let them know how they can help students in need.
Would you like to help us to manage our new arrivals? If you're an experienced volunteer looking for more ways to use your skills then why not become a peer mentor? You remember the volunteers who helped you through your own training, providing feedback and guidance for your test projects and coaching you through your first live books. You can do the same for others and help our staff to be in more places at once.
People with a background in teaching and instruction are especially valuable for these programs, but we encourage anyone from subject matter experts to voiceover training tutors to reach out. Contact the staff leaders of your book production teams if you're interested in learning more.
This month we resume our Volunteer Nation Live events with our 21st webinar. We'll take this beginning of a new year as a "reset" of sorts, as we review the ongoing mission of Learning Ally. In our December blog post we teased how Learning Ally is looking at new strategies and tools to help with early literacy. In this webinar you'll get a first look at some of the concrete plans we have to help these young learners. You'll find more information, including registration links in follow-up messages in our newsletters, on the Facebook group, and through Twist channels.
Speaking of Twist, we want to make sure more of you are using Twist, and using it well. If you haven't already signed up for Twist, be sure to join the conversation.
Remember these basics to make the most of Twist: Use @ mentions to contact staff. If you want to call attention to a message then type "@" and begin typing the name of the staff member then select their name in the popup. Now your message will be at the top in the staff member's Inbox with a notification to check it out. You can also click the Star icon in the top right of a thread if you find it interesting or if it relates to one of your book projects. Whenever that thread gets updated you'll see it in Starred section. No need to go hunting through threads for those updates!. Update your notification settings as well. Though you could have Twist send an email or phone message every time a post comes in, you're more likely to find notifications useful if they only come in from @mentions and 1:1 messages only.
Check out this Learning Ally Twist reference guide for instructions on how to set your preferences and for more user tips for Twist.
Laura F., Galit W. B., June W., Davida B., Paula H., Serina D., Elizabeth C., Shreya V., Aquapella M., Wayne M., Alonzo L., Revanth T., Mijo F., Kristina R., Aara C., Afridi M.
Richelle Feigin - Volunteer of the year at VTLO
Richelle has been volunteering for Learning Ally since April 2020. Recently, her company selected her as “Volunteer of the Year'' for her time and energy spent doing community service. With this accomplishment, Richelle was asked to select a nonprofit organization that her company could make a donation to in her name. Richelle selected Learning Ally and we graciously received a donation from Vitiello Communications Group (VTLO) in November. We want to congratulate Richelle on this incredible achievement and highlight her journey through our volunteer program. We want our Volunteer Nation to learn more about her and why volunteering for Learning Ally was important to her.
Richelle Feigin is a Senior Account Director at Vitiello Communications Group (VTLO), a communications agency that partners with Internal Communications, Human Resources, and Business Leaders to connect employees to the workplace and community. She has been with VTLO for 11 years.
Rachel has been actively volunteering in her community for as long as she can remember. However, when COVID hit back in March, she was looking for ways to give back from home while in lockdown. She used VolunteerMatch to search for causes she cares about so that she could use her skills to make an impact on others. That’s when she found Learning Ally. “It was a perfect way for me to be able to volunteer during quarantine and use my communication skills in a new and different way..” she said. In her own words, volunteering has reinforced her love of reading and her focus on details.
Richelle perfectly understands the literacy problem that the US is facing and found Volunteer Nation to be the perfect channel to try to help resolve this systematic problem. “I believe that literacy is the foundation for all learning throughout your life. Knowing that the work that I do helps kids become better readers is very rewarding. I’ve seen videos of students who use this tool and there is nothing better than witnessing their transformation from being shy and apathetic in the classroom to thriving emotionally, socially, and academically.”
In her personal life, Richelle is also a wife and a mother of two teenagers. She has two Dalmatians, named Chip and Dale (after the Disney chipmunks)! When asked what her favorite audiobook is and why it’s her favorite, Richelle recalled the first book she worked on, Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton. “It’s a very inspiring story, filled with faith and love and determination. She’s a wonderful role model for anyone struggling to overcome hardships in life.”
Richelle shared a piece of advice to her fellow volunteers. “Sign up today! It feels good to give back, especially knowing that the work I do turns embarrassed, frustrated, and timid students into confident, engaged learners who are empowered to succeed.”
We are so glad you decided to take this journey with us, Richelle! Thank you for all you do for Learning Ally and our students.