Marty has been volunteering with New Haven Reads for about 7 years. Marty decided to start volunteering after hearing about NHR through the Yale Club of New Haven. To him, New Haven Reads sounded like a very rewarding program. He spent three years volunteering at our Dixwell location before becoming a tutor at our Willow Street location.
Marty has worked with many different students over the years. When asked what keeps him coming back to NHR, Marty responded with “the amazing feedback that I get from the students.”
Marty’s favorite book is Catch 22, while as a child, his favorite book was The Jungle Book.
Helena has been tutoring at Bristol Street and online for about 4 years. She began her journey at New Haven Reads in the spring of 2018. “I wanted to give back to the community and I was excited to do so through reading, an activity that I love pursuing myself,” says Helena.
Helena’s passion for giving back to the community through reading is what attracted her to New Haven Reads. It has been her experiences with the amazing kids at New Haven Reads that keep her coming back over the years. Helena describes a time that she has discovered a shared interest with a student. “The student I tutor is a bright kid with a passion for animals and science in general.” Helena, a PhD candidate in neuroscience, says she enjoys explaining things in a kid-friendly way and sharing scientific knowledge.
When asked what her favorite book was, as a child and now, she responded by making note of her love for Harry Potter books or anything fantasy. As a child, Helena spent hours reading them secretly at night when she was supposed to be sleeping. Currently, she still enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi, but has expanded her reading interests into other novels and literature.
Isabella has been a volunteer at Bristol Street for eight months. She began her journey at New Haven Reads as an intern for her Psychology program at the University of New Haven. “I chose New Haven Reads because I love working with kids and I knew it would be a rewarding experience. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice!” says Isabella.
While at New Haven Reads, Isabella has displayed her versatility. In addition to tutoring, she has also been frequently sought out to translate newsletters and phone calls for our Spanish speaking families. Describing this experience, she explains that “it was nerve-wracking at first because I am not completely confident in my Spanish, especially when taking phone calls. After a while, I learned that it was irrelevant whether I spoke flawless Spanish or not. Instead, what matters is that I am assisting these families in getting the most out of their New Haven Reads experience. I am aware that many families who work with New Haven Reads do so in their native language. I believe I am assisting those families and the program in communicating more effectively.”
When we asked Isabella what keeps her coming back, she responded with her reason being because “I wanted to keep the bond as well as the progress I created with my students. I couldn’t bear to miss out on watching as their skills grow.”
When Isabella was a child, Number the Stars was her favorite book. Her favorite book today is The Help. The books that move her while providing insight into real life issues are her favorite reads.
Written by: Isaiah Cunningham, NHR Tutor and intern.
New Haven Reads is showing their gratitude and appreciation to the volunteers who have continuously supported New Haven Reads and our goal of developing a community of confident readers and expanding book access.
“We at New Haven Reads are so thankful to have such dedicated and involved tutors and volunteers. We are elated to have this opportunity to thank them for their time and effort”, says Fernanda Franco, Outreach Director at New Haven Reads. New Haven Reads is a non-profit organization that relies heavily on volunteers. Our volunteers are our heart and soul of New Haven Reads and we are honored to have them be a part of our team. Therefore, we are awarding navy blue fleece jackets with the New Haven Reads logo on the left chest area to our volunteers with three or more years of service. “I absolutely love the idea of providing volunteers with fleece jackets. These volunteers provide an invaluable service to the community, and it feels wonderful to see their efforts recognized for it,” says Aimee Curtis-Travaglini, Bristol Site Director.
New Haven Reads is always looking for ways to recognize the contributions of our volunteers. Volunteer support is integral to our success, and we’re proud to give them the recognition they deserve. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer with New Haven Reads, please click on the link here.
Susan Burlingame has been tutoring at the Dixwell site for about one year. She started in early 2020, right after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and New Haven Reads had transitioned to a distance learning format. Susan began tutoring because she wanted to help increase students’ reading skills while also sharing some of her favorite books. When asked what keeps her coming back, she responded with, “All of the wonderful, dedicated staff at New Haven Reads and of course the students! It’s so wonderful connecting with them each week.” Susan described a fun experience she had with her first student she tutored. During choice time, they would draw pictures together. They would take turns choosing a subject matter, then draw pictures to show each other once they were done.
A book that “completely carried [her] away” when she was younger was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of her current favorites is The Color of Water by James McBride.
Shirley Cavanagh has been tutoring at the Bristol site for almost five years. As a librarian at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), she enjoyed helping students utilize resources for their undergraduate papers and graduate theses. She described herself as being almost a “college tutor.” She is currently a co-president of the Hamden Woman’s Club, a non-profit organization that provides a number of different volunteer services.
After retiring in 2016, Shirley discovered New Haven Reads. She wanted to be involved in tutoring younger students who may be struggling or not particularly fond of reading. When asked what keeps her coming back to New Haven Reads, she responded, “Many things… I think the staff is exceptional. Especially in the past year and a half I’ve seen their dedication and commitment to continuing the program and continuing to work with students and their parents.”
One of Shirley’s all time favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and as a child it was the Anne of Green Gables series by Maud Montgomery. She also mentioned that when she used to babysit, she read Where the Wild Things Are multiple times and enjoyed doing so.
Shirley described a memorable and rewarding experience she recently had during a Zoom session. Her and the student were reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, typically taking turns every other page. Until one day the student who was once somewhat reluctant to read said, “I want to read.”
Kristy White started tutoring at the Science Park site in May of 2021. She is a high school girl’s tennis coach, and describes herself as a huge health and wellness geek. She discovered New Haven Reads when a friend of hers – a NHR tutor – forwarded her an email about summer internships that she thought Kristy’s teenager would be interested in. As she did a bit more research into the organization, Kristy was inspired to explore new volunteer opportunities. When asked what keeps her coming back to NHR she responded with, “No question, the kids keep me coming back. And I might secretly enjoy reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books along with my students.” (Don’t we all!) Kristy also stated, “What I love most about volunteering at NHR, is the mentor-like relationship. I am not their mom or teacher – just another trusted adult who shows up for them.”
Kristy’s favorite books as a child were all of the Beverly Cleary, Nancy Drew, and Little House on the Prairie books. One of her all time favorites is Little Women.
Kristy shared an honest experience she had with a high school student of hers. He was reading different history pieces each week and sometimes wouldn’t know what a word meant. Kristy was stumped with trying to define it, so she took to Google. She emphasized that she will never pretend to have all answers, and that she is always learning too.
Hello, my name is Abigail and I am the new Willow Street Assistant Site Director! It has been a busy time here at the Willow Street location. Setting up for the summer session after this building had been empty since March 2020 was a huge undertaking but Carol and I are finally reaching the end of that long to-do list. Our first week back was consumed with creating learning packets for the students, sorting books, scheduling tutoring sessions, and finally, organizing the space to facilitate learning and comply with COVID-safety protocols.
The building was painted, light bulbs were replaced, and everything was cleaned- this was much needed after the space was vacant for a whole year and a half!
Shown is one of the new air purifiers set to filter away germs and allergens.
This summer, we are offering both in-house and online tutoring for students. Some families have chosen to stay remote for tutoring and we look forward to seeing these students’ faces online, wherever they are logging in from. NHR has instituted a new program called myON to help students find digital books tailored to their interests with much more ease. We have also simplified the number of activities to complete during the hour-long session in order to reduce any technical difficulties previously experienced by students. This way they can focus on the best part of NHR – reading with their tutors!
New books carefully selected by Carol for students to choose from when arriving during the first days of summer session.
As for the families who have chosen in-person tutoring, we are thrilled to finally see the kids! It will be so nice to get a little closer to the warm, fun, and dynamic tutoring atmosphere. The building will be filled with the buzz of students reading, laughing with their tutors, and playing choice-time games. All this will be happening through masks as people remain 6 feet apart from one another and air filters hum in the background. Additionally, thorough cleaning will happen in between sessions.
We are excited to start our summer session and to see students at New Haven Reads once again – both in-person and online!
Lynda Paul has been volunteering at Bristol Street for over four months. In December of 2020 she was adamant about finding volunteer work to make a difference in others’ lives. She has had a lifelong passion for reading and language. “For me, reading has been a personal love since my earliest memories.” She would read at any moment during the day. Reading is a social passion for her because it offers so much. “I believe that literacy is a skill that gives its learner literally endless possibilities in the world.” What keeps her coming back is her student and seeing the growth. She enjoys learning from the staff as well. Not only is her student learning, but she is learning as well.
