Dr. Corbin Smith gives patients books when they visit his office in Rancho Bernardo. Find out why reading is so important to this new family dentist!

How do children learn to read? This blog explores the science of reading and how it differs from other reading instruction methods. Part 1 of a series.

We’re proud to spotlight our partner the San Diego Kiwanis Club Foundation! Did you know that the San Diego Kiwanis Club Foundation gives $250,000 annually to projects and organizations in the San Diego community? In 2022, their donation helped Traveling Stories update tech and exponentially increase our capacity!

San Diego Loyal Soccer Club has teamed up with Traveling Stories to launch “Loyal Readers” a new program to inspire youth in San Diego to read more often. Learn more at www.travelingstories.org/loyal

Traveling Stories is proud to announce a new partnership with MAAC Project, a San Diego-based nonprofit that serves over 75,000 people every year.

You don’t have to have a lot of money to make a big impact. Any activity can be turned into a fundraiser! Use our Fundraising Ideas for Groups to jumpstart your idea!

We connect with Po Lin to see how volunteering with Traveling Stories has benefitted him in work and life!

The Traveling Stories Work Study Program gives high school students the opportunity to get paid while they build job readiness skills and make a difference in their community. 

On May 18, Traveling Stories is turning 12. We invite you to celebrate with us all month long!

From Volunteer to Board President: Meet Rebekah Cahalin!

Gather a few friends and get ready to pick out some toys for children in the Traveling Stories program! On November 12, we’ll launch our annual Holiday Toy Drive. This year we’ll continue the tradition of collecting toys virtually. Participate without even leaving your house. It’s a great way to celebrate the season with coworkers, bible studies, book clubs, etc! See which toys have been requested the most by shopping our Amazon wish list!

September 9th, our community will come together for 24 hours of unprecedented philanthropy for the first-ever San Diego Gives. This online fundraiser will celebrate and support the work of local nonprofits committed to impacting the greater San Diego area. Traveling Stories is proud to participate to further our mission of empowering students through literacy and mentorship.

Summer learning loss is a critical issue for many students in low-income communities and one that has been exasperated by COVID-19. That’s why we’re proud to partner with Applied Data Finance (ADF) to expand our summer program and offer scholarships to 35 students at Valencia Park Elementary in Southeast San Diego. Each student will have weekly one-on-one reading sessions with a trained mentor and receive books and prizes. Based on past program outcomes, we expect that more than half of these students will show gains in either reading proficiency, fondness for reading, or personal confidence!

Created in response to COVID-19, the Virtual StoryTent matches children entering K-2nd grade with mentors for weekly, one-on-one video reading sessions. The program duration is six weeks with one 30-45 minute session each week. Children receive new books in the mail after enrolling. During sessions, children read and chat about books with their mentor. Children earn virtual Book Bucks for every book they read - even books they read during the week! With their Bucks, children can buy prizes through the online StoryTent store. Prizes are shipped to the child’s home at no cost.

This year, local author Meeg Pincus, M.A., was awarded the Gold Kite Honor Award in Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers for her picture book Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery. She selected Traveling Stories to receive the $250 prize the came along with the award.

15-year-old Linh volunteers with Traveling Stories’ new Virtual StoryTent program to give back to the community she grew up in. She aims to help children fall in love with reading and understand that it’s not just an assignment for school.

To celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, we have provided links for several fun printable holiday-themed reading worksheets for kids.

Creating a book Advent calendar for your child is a unique way that you and your family can add books to the holiday season! Learn how in this blog.

Why is reading so important? In this blog, you’ll learn the shocking statistics on American literacy and the economic and social impact of poor reading skills.

Part 2 of our interview with Todd McFarlane, the artist and creator behind Spawn and President of Image, the 3rd largest comic book company in the United States.