100 Men of Dane County & Women's Collective by Cure Local
2/3 of children from
low income households have no books at home, yet books in the home are the single biggest indicator of academic success.
— Madison Reading Project
MADISON READING PROJECT
100 Men of Dane County 1st Quarter Grant Winner for 2022
Madison Reading Project connects our community with free books and literacy resources that ignite a love for reading and affirm and reflect the diversity of young readers. Since 2014, MRP has served thousands of families, schools and community organizations by providing free books, and offering fun and engaging literacy programs to children and educators.
MADISON READING PROJECT
Since 2014 Madison Reading Project has given 278,620 books to 157,853 kids! Madison Reading Project believes wholeheartedly in the importance of children having access to books that reflect their unique identities and open their eyes to other people's lived experiences. They connect families, educators and our community with free books and literacy resources that ignite a love for reading and affirm and reflect the diversity of young readers.
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Madison Reading Project will use their funds from their $91,000 gift in 2022 to serve more children, in a wider Dane County reach, with more books available for giving. It will also allow them to add staff hours to reach out to more schools and facilitate carefully curated titles matching linguistic demographics of the children being served. This funding will also allow MRP to increase their capacity to provide early learning books to children not yet enrolled in school, delivered by their social services partners (i.e. Reach Dane) during home counseling visits.
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MADISON READING PROJECT
Mission
Madison Reading Project connects our community with free books and literacy resources that ignite a love for reading and affirm and reflect the diversity of young readers.
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History
In 2013, Madison Reading Project was started by founder and Executive Director, Rowan Childs. On a search for reading resources, Childs discovered the alarming statistics associated with literacy rates and book ownership of families experiencing poverty. With a $1,000 seed donation, they served their first 30 children at the Salvation Army of Dane County's after school program.
Over time, they've grown to serve thousands of families, schools and community organizations by providing free books, and offering fun and engaging literacy programs to children and educators.
