Author Archive

Written by: Isaiah Cunningham, NHR Tutor and intern.

Albertus Magnus College and New Haven Reads have combined forces for the betterment of younger students who seek improvement in their reading skills as well as to benefit Albertus students in their pursuit of and preparation for the workforce.

Albertus Magnus College and New Haven Reads have created a partnership that allows college students to intern in order to fulfill graduation requirements, as well as to gain experiences that will be very useful in the future. Tutor interns at New Haven Reads offer one-on-one reading instruction for students ages 6-18 to improve their reading skills. Student Interns find it rewarding to watch and support younger students to enhance their reading skills before your eyes. The internship also benefits the intern because it improves their social skills, leadership skills, and other skills to prepare them for the workforce after college.

“New Haven Reads has been an incredible experience,” says Isaiah Cunningham, a New Haven Reads tutor and intern who was recently hired. “I’m incredibly appreciative of this chance to assist younger learners who wish to improve their reading abilities,” he adds.

Isaiah sorting books at our Book Bank

Maryann Reid, the Financial Aid Operations Assistant at Albertus Magnus College, assists students who are looking for work study/internship opportunities. “When I present the opportunity the students are excited to tutor and work with younger students in the community,” explains Reid.

The Outreach Director at New Haven Reads, Fernanda Franco, who manages the interns from Albertus Magnus College values the goal of this partnership. “I love the idea of providing a safe place for students to grow into their best professional selves,” says Fernanda Franco. “New Haven Reads and Albertus Magnus partner in the hopes that we will provide just that,” explains Franco.

Please speak with your advisor if you are an Albertus Magnus student interested in becoming a tutor for the New Haven Reads organization and are enthusiastic about the concept of spreading the joy and power of reading every day as well as empowering aspiring readers to master the literacy skills needed to thrive in school and life.

Find out more about becoming a tutor by visiting the link below:

BECOME A NHR TUTOR OR VOLUNTEER

Tags:albertus magnus, albertus magnus college, Book Bank, Bristol Street, interns, literacy, new haven, work study
Posted in Home Page

Kavita has been volunteering for four years at the Bristol street site. She started volunteering in the fall of 2017, right after she moved to New Haven. She became a volunteer because she wanted to help children overcome their obstacles and provide a form of support for them. When we asked Kavita what keeps her coming back, she answered with, “I love to see my students progress! I have a great relationship with all my students and seeing them succeed and improve over time is one of the most gratifying things in the world. They’re so proud when they realize they’ve accomplished something new and I’m so grateful to be able to help them and witness this.”

Among Kavita’s favorite books are the Elephant and Piggie books. She thinks that the author of this series is a genius. We know a few students who would agree with her!

Posted in Volunteer Spotlight

Our wonderful friends at the New Haven Independent wrote an amazing article about our new Outreach Director Fernanda who joined us December 2021.

Read all about her new role at New Haven Reads and her very cool band Fernanda and The Ephemeral (FaTE) below.

Read Here

Posted in Home Page

Gabrielle, known as “Gabby,” has been a volunteer at Science park for almost two years. She began volunteering at NHR in February of 2020, just prior to the pandemic. Gabby decided to volunteer at New Haven Reads due to her love for working with children, and her desire to help students look at reading and writing in a fun way. She explains that she learned a lot about working with children from her mother, a kindergarten assistant.

When asked why she keeps coming back, she stated “Getting to interact with the students, both the ones I tutor and the other students who have different tutors, brings so much joy to my day. I have watched my students grow immensely in their reading skills and I love to tell them that I am proud of them for that. I want them to know that we see how hard they are working.”

Gabrielle also credits her students with improving her own communication skills, and with teaching her how to adapt her work with them based on their needs. “I understand that students have learned a lot from us working together, but I learn just as much from them.”

Gabby’s favorite book as an adult is Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem. As a kid, Gabrielle loved the Magic Treehouse Books–a series which she now gets to share with one of her students.

Posted in Blog, Volunteer Spotlight

Melanie has been tutoring at the Willow for about four and a half years. She found NHR in early 2017, while looking for ways to engage in positive activities. The students are what keeps her coming back. “I love it. I’ve learned a lot from the kids. Each one has brought something unique to the table. It feels good to be helpful and see the world through different (and younger) perspectives.” She has even brushed up on some of her own skills during her time at NHR!

Melanie has had many students over the years and shared “I keep a wonderful hand-made card from one of my first students on my mantle. It always makes me smile!”

Some of Melanie’s favorite childhood books were The Blue Cat of Castle Town, Charlotte’s Web, and Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. One of her current favorites is Piranesi.

Posted in Volunteer Spotlight

New Haven Reads is currently offering our programs remotely due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. We are seeking volunteers to help tutor our students online. If you or someone you know may be interested please fill out the application here or email volunteer@test.newhavenreads.org for more information.

Tags:online tutoring, tutor, tutors, virtual learning, volunteer, volunteers
Posted in Blog, Home Page

Huge thanks to everyone who made an end of year gift to New Haven Reads during our annual appeal!

There is still time to make a tax-deductible gift in 2021. To donate today click here!

Reading is critical for school – and life – success. By sharing the joy and power of reading, New Haven Reads is working to build a community of readers who will break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy.

In 2022, we will continue to:

provide our one-on-one tutoring and literacy programs
serve our Kindergarten students and we will expand this program to serve more children
distribute thousands of books at food pantries and through partner organizations
support our families with technology and internet access.

All of our programs are free of charge. Your generous gift transforms the life of a children in our community by helping them to become readers!

Support NHR Here

Thank you for supporting literacy!

Tags:donate, donations, giving
Posted in Home Page

New Haven Reads students have been really excited for our Winter Book Giveaway! We have been giving away hundreds of books to our NHR students over the past few weeks. All of our students were able to take home two books and were very thankful.

Tutors helped students select books.

Saturday students enjoyed picking out books to take home.

Tags:Book Bank, book giveaway, student, tutors
Posted in Home Page

Today is Giving Tuesday: a global fundraising movement to supercharge nonprofit donations in the holiday season. Your gift to New Haven Reads will make an incredible local impact and help our students flourish.

Donate here to support New Haven Reads this Giving Tuesday!

When you give to New Haven Reads, you directly support children who are motivated, engaged, and excited to unlock the power of reading. Together, we can help our community’s children and change their trajectory towards a future of hope and promise.

Please consider making a secure, tax-deductible donation of any amount to share the joy and power of reading with children in our community.

Posted in Blog

“In the great tradition of the Spelling Bee, there was an amazing group of people, lots of laughter along with some great spelling that came together for a special evening!”
– Executive Director, Kirsten Levinsohn

The staff was thrilled to see all our families and friends log in at once and start chatting with each other and wave to familiar faces over zoom! Participants logged in from across the country and this is exactly what makes the virtual event so special!

It was so wonderful to see all our participants creative costumes, cool backgrounds, adorable pets, and neat Kahoot names pop up on our screens. As the night progressed, we had about 100 people join the Bee and 64 Kahoot players logged in. Some were individual players, others were family groups, and three families logged into zoom from their driveway and projected the event on a screen by a camp fire! They had to be both precise and speedy as they looked through four spelling variations of each word for the correct answer. We had winners from each round as well as overall winners!

Thanks to our Emcee, Ray Andrewsen, the night was filled with fun jokes and encouragement as the players strived for the top scores. Our Word Pronouncer, Shana Schneider did an excellent job at saying even the toughest words and made the night come to life with her cheerful voice and creative headbands! Thanks to all our supporters, we raised $17,570 in total!

We are so thankful to our Sponsors for supporting our programs through this event!