My Giving Story includes the many memories I have working with youth around the globe to give back to communities in need. It includes watching the many volunteers and community leaders of the Leaders Readers Network show up and work together to provide teachers and students supplies, book, and inspiration.

My Giving Story is about bringing encouragement to teachers and books to students at underfunded schools.

My giving story is about the incredible opportunity my students have to pay it forward, but in reality, my giving story really started the day I was born. I have always had a heart for giving; my love language is acts of service.

My Giving Story is about the amazing team I get to volunteer with at the Leaders Readers Network. Each educator and student who is a part of our network inspires me everyday to keep working to try and close the literacy gap.

My Giving Story is about growing leaders in our community. By providing teachers, school staff, and students with resources and support, we can continue to grow our current leaders and nurture our emerging leaders.

My Giving Story is about paying it forward to schools that are underfunded, and students who have had no choice but to attend these schools in such conditions.

My Giving Story is about teaching my students the value of literacy. I am able to share stories with my students that reflect their own life and experiences and I am able to share with them stories of individuals whose life is drastically different than theirs.

My Giving Story is about the children I teach each day and the students who will come after them

My Giving Story is about the students I have helped impact at a local underfunded school.

My Giving Story starts with my own love of reading. In my memory, it was the only school subject I was “good at”. In my memory, my house was filled with books as a child. I spent time during the summers with my Granny and she fostered that love of reading by having an established “rest time” every afternoon. I read through her collection of Nancy Drew and Little Women.

My Giving Story is about growth, leadership, and the interconnectedness of community. Since becoming a teacher ambassador for the Leaders Readers Network I have been able to connect with other teacher and student ambassadors who share my passion for volunteerism, literacy, and the merging of those two together.

My Giving Story is about going back to one of Dallas ISD most impoverished schools to be a part of a turnaround initiative to increase student achievement. I was a part of the initial turnaround and it brought me great joy to build the academic confidence of such AMAZING students.

My Giving Story is about the amazing team I get to volunteer with at the Leaders Readers Network. Each educator and student who is a part of our network inspires me everyday to keep working to try and close the literacy gap.

My Giving Story is about the students and teachers working together to make an impact. It’s about my journey that led me to learn about the inequities of our education system and taking action to support teachers and students at underserved schools.

My Giving Story is about the impact I made through co-founding the Pay it Forward national project. It is about the 615 student volunteers rallied, the 3,000 brand new books provided, and the 3,000 service hours volunteers received. It is about rallying hundreds of individuals across the country to write words of encouragement to students who may need it during these trying times.