November Volunteers of the Month

Drum roll, please! This month we are recognizing the AMAZING work of our America Reads Tutor Team. America Reads has been a transformational partner for 826michigan this fall. We are delighted to lift up each of our America Reads Tutors: Alma Hearin, Jillian Armstrong, Teagan Frye, Julia Wicker, Shelby Jeffrey, Sofia Micale, Kayla Robertson, Amber Hasmi, and Ariyana Horrison. Throughout the fall semester these nine  dedicated University of Michigan students through the Ginsberg Center’s America Reads program have supported Washtenaw County Field Trips for a collective 137 hours and counting. They bring their excitement for literacy, talent for making students feel comfortable, and attention to each field trip classroom. They have supported students in crafting carefully written bedtime stories, zines about social change, zany choose your own adventure stories, and so much more. We feel incredibly lucky to have their consistent support and look forward to more fun this semester!

Our educator partners have been wowed and amazed to have such amazing student-to-adult ratios during a magical two-hour writing adventure so that each student can be supported. In fact, here’s what one teacher had to say about our America Reads tutors: “A focused two hours of WRITING–celebrating ideas–fine tuning them. All of the volunteers and nearly one-on-one attention! This is the way I want to teach writing but I often don’t feel like I have the time to workshop with kids like this. So valuable! Thank you!”

Here’s a little bit more about some of the America Reads Tutors:

Shelby Jeffrey

Tell the world a little bit about your Fall 2022 826 experience so far:

My Fall 2022 experience with 826 so far has been tremendous! I feel I have made strong connections with students, and I have seen some students really come out of their shells by the end of the field trip. Education and creative outlets have always been important to me, and I’ve helped thousands of people over the years of all ages and backgrounds. I believe everyone deserves access to education, especially in literacy, since most careers and experiences in life revolve around efficient communication, reading, and writing. I feel I am doing something with a strong impact by helping children, and my goal is to help them see the importance of honing in on their literacy skills from a young age. I always say the earlier, the better!

My favorite field trip so far has been the one at Ypsilanti International Elementary on October 28th – “If I Were You.” This one was my favorite because one girl in particular I was working with was very shy. I asked her about her favorite color and hobbies between the writing activities, and by the end of the session, she let me hold her comfort teddy bear and drew me a picture to keep! It was very sweet to see her personality come out over only a couple hours, and I believe making her feel comfortable by sharing for her to the class really helped. By the end of the session, she wanted to share her writing herself with the class! I was very proud of her.

What I like most about 826michigan field trips is the opportunity for children to have a creative outlet to get their ideas and feelings out. School is very structured around subjects, and I think it’s very important to provide activities to children that are not only engaging, but fun and beneficial too! Not only do they get to express themselves, but they get to see their work published while building their reading and writing skills, which are both very big accomplishments they should be proud of. These literacy skills will also help them as they make their educational journey, helping them read and interpret properly, and be able to produce well-written and thoughtful pieces of writing.

Julia Wicker

Tell the world a little bit about your Fall 2022 826 experience so far:

My favorite moments so far during my Fall 2022 826 experience are when I get to see and experience the joy on the student’s faces when they get to write their own stories. My favorite field trip so far is the create your own adventure book. This is my favorite because I love getting to hear all of the creative ideas that students come up with! I like that 826 Michigan brings the joy of writing to students and that they give the opportunity to become published authors.

Alma Hearin

Tell the world a little bit about your Fall 2022 826 experience so far:

I love how the projects really inspire creativity amongst the children. Guiding them to explore their ideas is so, so fun! I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure Field Trip. The children seemed to be really excited about this field trip and had so many ideas they could barely fit it onto their pages! I also like that we get to interact with the children in an environment they are comfortable working in as well as the fact that although they are called field trips and the students do not leave their schools, they still really enjoy what 826 brings to them!

Sofia Micale

Tell the world a little bit about your Fall 2022 826 experience so far:

I have watched young students generate and create amazing ideas, while feeling empowered to express themselves with language. Seeing them smile and giggle with excitement over the stories in their minds has recently inspired me to start writing more! I have really enjoyed the Choose Your Own Adventure themed Field Trips because it inspires so many creative and fantastical ideas. What I like most about 826michigan Field Trips is getting to meet new students every field trip and witness their enthusiasm.

Teagan Frye

Tell the world a little bit about your Fall 2022 826 experience so far:

I love how each field trip is different. Even with the same writing activities, kids always seem to come up with new, unique ideas to write about. I think my favorite field trip was at Eberwhite Elementary in Ann Arbor when we did the New Monuments Program. The kids came up with really cool ideas and all wrote something really heart felt. One student wrote about wanting to build a monument to like their grandma who was having a hard time and another one wanted to build a monument about fighting discrimination. What I like about 826michigan field trips is that they’re always different with new students each time and rotating programs.