Most kids love that feeling of having a new book in their hands — a whole new adventure ready to unfold right in front of them! With a lot of heavy issues happening in the world, it’s wonderful to be able to turn to books for relief, guidance, support and so much more.
Madison Reading Project is a nonprofit that provides books and programs for underserved children in Southcentral Wisconsin. Executive director Rowan Childs shares more on the organization, including how many books they’ve distributed since the COVID 19 pandemic, and how families can make reading at home a priority.
What is the mission of Madison Reading Project?
Madison Reading Project connects our community by engaging in literacy partnerships. We provide children free books that celebrate the cultural and linguistic diversity of young readers to address socioeconomic and racial inequities in Wisconsin. MRP ignites a love for reading!
How does book distribution work?
We receive new and like-new books donated to us from the public, and we are also purchasing books to supplement the donations to make sure we have the right mix of books at the center. We want to make sure the books are in great quality and content and are relevant. We have a wide range of requests for books from nonfiction to graphic novels. We have many requests from teachers and parents right now for anti-racist themes and diverse books, and those are usually not donated. We have to purchase those.
Our staff does an amazing job curating the books and going through the donations to make sure books fit our specifications. We do our best to use all children’s books that are donated. We take books from baby to teen.
Pre-pandemic, we provided books at programming sessions and public events and via appointments at our center. In addition, Our Big Red Reading Bus was stocked with all kinds of different books — levels and topics for kids and parents to climb aboard to select their free books. Teachers, social workers and community centers would put in requests for the type of books they needed and how many.
Given current circumstances, we can’t have anyone from the public at the center. We have been curating and delivering bulk orders for schools, community centers, food pantries and programs. We even were doing home delivery for some of our partners on our bus. Right now we are offering virtual shopping for educators to select books for their classrooms.
How many books have been distributed since the COVID 19 pandemic?
Since the outbreak, we are around 30,000 books provided!
How many community partners do you currently have? How can schools and other community organizations get involved?
We have over one hundred partners. From school districts, individual schools and community partners to jails, courthouses and social workers, we want to help children and those who are serving and caring for them. There is a link to connect with us through our website, and we can also be reached at programming@madisonreadingproject.com.
What was your favorite book as a child?
Books by Roald Dahl, National Geographic and Vogue magazine, my parents’ coffee table art books, and my mother read as A.A. Milne stories frequently as a young child.
Any advice for families wanting to prioritize reading together as they spend more time at home?
Set up a routine and try your best to stick with it. We know that can be hard for busy families, but a routine does get everyone into the rhythm. Children emulate parents, so if they see you reading, they are more likely to themselves. Get creative with kids that don’t want to sit still for long periods of time, and get creative with what type of books they want to read. My own son was more interested in reading sports magazines and stats over “storybooks”!
The Whiskey & Words fundraiser is moving online? Can you tell us more about that?
We are excited to announce that our annual fall event, Whiskey & Words, will be going digital! Whiskey & Words is a night filled with literacy fun featuring spoken word poetry. In collaboration with 105.5 MMM, we will be bringing guests our incredible featured artists as a Studio M session — including the poet laureate of Madison, Angela Trudell Vasquez. The show will premiere October 8 at 6:30 p.m. on 105.5MMM’s Facebook page. People can like and follow our event on Facebook to bid on some amazing prizes as we lead up to the day of the show.
How can community members get involved?
Right now we are unable to have volunteers in person at our center, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need help! A couple of different ways:
Run a book drive at your home, business, book club. We have directions on how to do that on our website and even how to do a virtual book drive for new books online.
Donate funds to help us keep MRP running with our professional staff, donation center, new books we purchase and our book bus on the road.
Sign up to volunteer, we hope we will be able to slowly bring back volunteers to the center. We will keep you up to date with opportunities coming up. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and join our Facebook supporters group. Be our advocate!
Photos courtesy of Madison Reading Project.
Megan Kulick is a journalism graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She worked in the nonprofit field for seven years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband and their daughter live in Mount Horeb. She is always in pursuit of a great trail to run, a good book to read and the best place to find a good iced coffee.