“We would like to thank you sooooo much for the donation of the Book Library as well as all of the wonderful books you sent with it. Both the children and staff love the Library!!!”
Angela Dunklin, Center Supervisor for Regent Park Early Learning Center
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Rx for Reading teamed up with one our very first community partners, United Children and Family Head Start, and a new partner, Gleaners Community Food Bank, to provide food for little ones’ minds — along with food for their bodies! Since March, UCFHS and Gleaners have served over 100 families twice a month, and Rx for Reading has provided over 1,000 brand new children’s books for this extraordinary effort.
Coming together in the face of COVID-19 has been a natural extension of our work with United Children and Family Head Start. Since 2015, University of Detroit Mercy undergraduates have read with hundreds of Head Start and Great Start preschoolers through our Reading Buddies program. Participating preschoolers get to choose a new book to take home and keep every week — 13,500 books and counting.
We were so disappointed when the Reading Buddies program had to go on hiatus due to COVID, but thankful that children and families could continue to access books during this difficult time.
As always, books were purchased with donations from our generous supporters, and we were able to offer some fantastic selections, including Elephant and Piggie Like Reading; Leonardo: The Terrible Monster; Knuffle Bunny; Drawn Together; Digger the Dinosaur; Don’t Worry Little Critter; Holly’s Day at the Pool; Finding Dory; Drawn Together; and Baby Beluga.
As a special treat for Rx for Reading and UCFHS families, Ms. Kimberly Ogletree recorded a video reading one of the amazing books we were able to distribute this spring: The World Shines for You.
Please enjoy and share!
Thank you to United Children and Family Head Start and Gleaners Community Food Bank. It takes a village–we are glad to be in yours!
Since 2014, Rx for Reading has created 65 free community libraries in Detroit, Dearborn, Highland Park, Hamtramck, and Ypsilanti. Each library is hosted by a community partner dedicated to serving children and families in under-resourced communities. Brilliant Detroit is one of them.
Happy customers!
“Over the last two years, Little Libraries provided by Rx for Reading have become a staple of each Brilliant Detroit hub, functioning as welcoming and accessible places for our neighbors to access a whole host of books free of charge. Not only do they help get books out into neighborhoods where there are so few; they act as welcome mats for the Brilliant Detroit hubs themselves, signaling that these are spaces for community to come and gather. Currently we have Little Libraries set up or ready to be installed at all of our locations, and we are excited for these to be a part of every Brilliant Detroit hub to come.”Cindy Eggleton, Co-Founder and CEO of Brilliant Detroit
Rx for Reading also provides opportunities for University of Detroit Mercy college students to get involved and engaged in their community. This spring, students in Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed service learning fraternity at University of Detroit Mercy, designed and painted three community libraries for Brilliant Detroit hubs. Material costs for the libraries were funded by a Detroit Mercy Mission Micro Grant and generous gifts from individual donors.
APO members hard at work. Pictured: Da’Jonae Foster, Carmela Esteva, Claire Washburn, Janasia Johnson, Irelynd Bone, Matthew Shand Not pictured: Matthew Rimle, Aaron Parker. Special shout-out to Detroit Mercy’s College of Engineering and Science, which invited APO to use the Engineering High Bay, and John Mio, our stalwart woodworker, who builds all of the Rx for Reading libraries.
Rx for Reading Library at Brilliant Detroit Southwest.
We are proud to stand with Alpha Phi Omega in supporting Brilliant Detroit, an organization that works to foster love and learning, safety and stability, health and growth for young children and their families!
To find out more about Brilliant Detroit, watch this inspiring video.
By Chanel Marie Smith
The role of being a guest reader is far more interesting than the title alone. Most weeks I join the preschoolers at Emmanuel Head Start, which is a few miles northeast of the university. Watching the children grow each semester and develop a true love for reading is a remarkable feeling. We look forward to seeing each other every week–they know my name, and I know all of theirs! I have also had the pleasure of reading with students at Cooke S.T.E.M. Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District) and Dickinson West Elementary (Hamtramck Public Schools). Watching the children interact with different stories–especially guessing the events of what will happen next–is my favorite part of being a guest reader.
Chanel–and Pete the Cat!–with the preschoolers at Emmanuel Head Start. Each week Chanel reads out loud and all of the children at Emmanuel get to pick out a new book to take home and keep.
March is Reading Month was quite the celebration this year. Emmanuel, Cooke S.T.E.M., and Dickinson West all celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We kicked off the month by reading the classic Happy Birthday to You!, which was Dr. Seuss’s first all-color picture book. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and High? Low? Where Did It Go? were popular with both the preschoolers and elementary students. A lot of the children were most familiar with The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. This story revolves around the Cat making a mess of everything he touches while incorporating all of the letters of the alphabet. The children at all of the schools know the sequences of this book like you would know your favorite movie.
Chanel with the 1st Graders at Cooke S.T.E.M. Academy
Keeping up with the stories children love, Emmanuel Head Start has taken a dive into the Pete the Cat series for the month of April. So far, we have read Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes and Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes. The song in Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes was very catchy and the children sung right along, which was great!
Chanel also takes on much of the “heavy lifting” for Rx for Reading. She has delivered over 20,000 books to our community partners across Metro Detroit!
by Mary-Catherine Harrison, Director, Rx for Reading Detroit
I’m a sucker for New Year’s resolutions (even though I’ll probably break them come January), but for me the end of the year is also a time to give thanks and take stock. With Rx for Reading, that includes taking actual stock of the books we gave to our many community partners this year. Luckily, an Excel spreadsheet does much of that work for us!
In 2018, we were able to distribute 29,585 books: 22,880 gently used books donated by individuals and groups all around Metro Detroit and 6,705 new books that we were able to purchase with monetary donations so that children can have the excitement and pride of owning a brand new book of their own. Our goal for this semester is to reach 125,000 books distributed to kids and families in our community.
The Rx for Reading table at the UCFHS Math and Science Fair
The end of the year (and beginning of the winter semester) is also a time to take stock of the books we have on hand and the requests we need to fill. When I started Rx for Reading in 2014 I had no idea that supply chain management would be such a critical feature of the work! Balancing books in and books out can be a delicate dance, but it always seems to work out in the end. This fall we had a bit of stress when we depleted our entire stock of picture books, but at the critical moment we received several monetary donations from new and long-time supporters and small grants from the Ford Fund and the Detroit Mercy Mission Micro Grant Program. After placing several huge orders from the First Book National Book Bank, we were back up and running.
Every monetary donation we receive goes straight to work–and each donation makes an enormous impact. In case you missed it, you can see what as little as $10 can accomplish in a recent blog post.
Towards the end of the semester we also received four large donations of books that will get us off to a good start this January. These donations give a good sense of the diverse groups of folks who collect books on our behalf: the Robocubs Team at University of Detroit Jesuit, the Birmingham Country Club Book Club, Talia, a seventh grader who collected books as a community service project for her Bat Mitzvah, and Elijah, a high schooler who collected books for his Eagle Scout project. I have this refrain in my head most days–It truly takes a village.
At the César Chávez Elementary School Library, which was sponsored in honor of Sara and Joe Gifford
Much of our day-to-day work is spent working to meet the needs of our many community partners. We recently calculated that we have provided over 20,000 books to eight different clinics run by the Arab American Chaldean Council, one of our first and most dedicated community partners! Every week student volunteers read in Head Start classrooms and help each child pick a new book to take home and keep.
Connor Batcheller reads to the kids at Beatty Early Learning Center
Mike Tartaglia reads to the kids at Beatty Early Learning Center
An exciting bit in the book!
One highlight this year was establishing new Rx for Reading free community libraries at four different schools–César Chávez Early Elementary in Southwest Detroit, Dove Academy on the East Side, Adams Upper Elementary School in Westland, and the Beatty Early Learning Center in Ypsilanti. These libraries are now an integral part of their school communities, where children can choose books to “Take, Read, Share” at any time. Another highlight was “upgrading” the Washtenaw WIC Clinic–from a bookcase to a beautiful rainbow library–in honor of Elayne Hack, a lifelong lover of books. John Mio continues to be extraordinarily generous, donating his time and talent to building each and every one of our libraries.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid!
From the Dove Academy Library Launch
Since the beginning, the daily operations of Rx for Reading have been run by students at University of Detroit Mercy. Without them we simply wouldn’t exist (and I would fall to pieces!). It was both exciting and sad when our longtime student coordinator, Emma Mucci, graduated this May. Emma dedicated hundreds upon hundreds of hours to Rx for Reading, including managing volunteer hours for scores of students in my service learning courses. This academic year the core members of the Rx for Reading team are Chanel Smith, who reads at Emmanuel Head Start and makes virtually all of our pickups and deliveries, Temperance Baker, who manages our donations and deliveries (and tries to create order among the chaos!), Jency Shaji, who reads at All About Kids Head Start and helps with book sorting, and Hannah Tillman, who does whatever else needs doing. Brittany Derr, our longtime reader at Summer Preschool, which is just a few blocks away from campus, is also graduating, but Nurzahan Rahman graciously stepped in and took over reading in the school’s Head Start and Great Start classrooms.
There is so much more I could talk about, but suffice it to say I am grateful for the year we have had and looking forward to the year to come. There is always more to be done.
Thank you to each and every one of our volunteers, donors, partners, and friends. You have given children with limited access to books the opportunity to read. What could be more valuable? Of course we would be happy for your end-of-year (or any time of year) donations of money, books, or time. Please subscribe to our blog; follow us on Facebook or Twitter; tell your friends; and keep in touch.
Together, WE ARE
Most days the problems of the world feel very large, and our ability to solve them so very small.
“What could $10 possibly do?”
With zero overhead, Rx for Reading uses 100% of donations to purchase new books and build free community libraries.
THANKS from the Very Hungry Caterpillar: 70¢
I Wonder: Celebrating Daddies Doin’ Work: 60¢
Satchmo’s Blues, 80¢
Jan Brett’s Animal Treasury: 80¢
Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible: 80¢
The Very Eric Carle Treasury: 80¢
The Foot Book: 80¢
Chomp: 80¢
The Only Child: 80¢
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo: 60¢
If You Come Softly: 80¢
The Crayons’ Book of Numbers: 80¢
The All-I’ll-Ever-Want-Christmas-Doll: 80¢
___________________
César Chávez students lining up at their new Rx for Reading Library.
Rx for Reading is excited to announce our new collaboration with the César Chávez Academy in Southwest Detroit. The early elementary school is now home to an Rx for Reading community library, which was given to the school along with a collection of 400 children’s books to help keep it filled. All students at the school are invited to “Take, Read, Share!” / “Tome, Lea, Comporta!”
The Lorax Library was sponsored by a generous donor in honor of Sara Zawacki Gifford, former Rx for Reading Student Coordinator, and her husband Joe Gifford. The library was painted by Paige Fairchild, a student in the University of Detroit Mercy College of Business Administration.
“I love to see the children choosing books and donating them to the Lorax library.”
Lauri Cobb, Intervention Teacher, César Chávez Early Elementary (and our partner on the ground!)
César Chávez students help organize the library. César Chávez Academy is a public charter school in Southwest Detroit. 74% of its students are English language learners.
“I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Arely Valencia, parent and one-on-one aide at César Chávez
As one student put it, “I like the Lorax Library because you can keep reading.”
Rx for Reading also sponsored the school’s celebration of El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), providing a brand new book for every one of the school’s 455 kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders. Two Detroit Mercy alums, Marco Ineguez-Vera (BSN-Nursing) and Ana Barajas (Honors Biology), read to students at the event.
Detroit Mercy alumna Ana Barajas reading to students at the school’s Día celebration.
On September 25th, 2014, Rx for Reading Detroit was born!
Our mission from the beginning has been a simple one:
Our initial goal was to collect and distribute 1,000 children’s books. Three years later, we have had the great privilege of giving over 80,000 books to kids and families in Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Dearborn, and Ypsilanti.
How have we done it?
Thousands of growing kids and teens have given their books to be shared with younger children.
Scores of schools, businesses, and community organizations have run book drives to help collect books.
20,000 brand new books have been purchased with generous financial support from over 100 individual donors as well as grants from Impact Detroit, Ford Community Corps, Kohl’s Cares, University of Detroit Mercy Mission Micro-Grant Program, and University of Detroit Mercy Women’s and Gender Studies Program.
Over 100 Detroit Mercy undergraduates and graduate students have done the “heavy lifting” of day-to-day operations.
Our belief is that literacy is social justice.
Our vision is to help eliminate the opportunity gap by ensuring universal access to age-appropriate reading material.
Our commitment is to raising the next generation of readers and leaders in our community.
To help celebrate our 3rd birthday, read to a child in your life, or give a donation to help support reading in the lives of all children!
Guest blog by Emma Mucci, Student Coordinator for Rx for Reading Detroit
Rx for Reading has reached another memorable milestone! Since September 2014, we have distributed over 75,000 books to thousands of kids and families in our community. We couldn’t have done it without our incredible community partners, organizations that work every day to support families and empower children in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.
Rx for Reading Free Library at the Detroit Public Library Parkman Branch.
We also could not have reached this goal without our many supporters and donors. As the number of families we serve has grown, so has our need for books and financial donations. During the spring and summer of 2017, over 20 different organizations and schools ran book drives for Rx for Reading. Book drives were held as close as the University of Detroit Mercy campus to as far away as Grand Junction, Colorado! Together these donors contributed over 10,000 books to help support literacy for all children.
Two of our youngest book drive organizers!
Some of the books that found new homes and families this summer.
In a city characterized as a “book desert,” how do you grow an environment that is rich with print?
Rx for Reading Library at Hamtramck Neighborhood Center, painted by design historian and educator Grace Vandervliet.
Our answer is that reading can happen anywhere, so books need to be everywhere. Over the last two years Rx for Reading has established over 30 community libraries in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, in addition to our 15 clinic libraries in health, dental, and WIC clinics. These little houses for books can be found in community centers, churches, schools, shelters, and more. At each Rx for Reading Community Library children and families are invited to choose books to “Take, Read, Share!”–over 15,000 books in all, in addition to 55,000 books distributed through our other programs.
Choosing books from the Developing K.I.D.S. library!
“As the ultimate portable object, books move from community spaces into the home environments of children, where they have been shown to have such a powerful impact on literacy and academic success.”
Mary-Catherine Harrison, Ph.D. from “Rx for Reading Detroit: Place-Based Social Justice Pedagogy” (Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Spring 2017)
Painting the library at Hamtramck Neighborhood Center. Hamtramck Neighborhood Center is our only community partner with not one but two libraries–they are shared by the kids and seniors who use the Center.
“The Hamtramck Neighborhood Center has been transformed so that the community, seniors and youth can receive services in a safe inviting space. Seniors come during the day for wellness and health classes and activities. The youth come after school and during the summer for great exposure to recreation, art, cooking and yoga classes. Both groups use the “reading lounge” to relax and enjoy a good book donated by Rx for Reading Detroit.”
Gregory Everett, LMSW, Executive Director of People’s Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit.
The Reading Lounge at Hamtramck Neighborhood Center.
Rx for Reading libraries are not only resources for the community; they are created through a community effort. Our community partners serve as library stewards, helping to keep the libraries safe and stocked with books. Building materials are purchased with monetary donations from our generous supporters, who also donate books to help keep them filled. John Mio Woodworking volunteers their labor and many painters have volunteered their artistic expertise, including kids who use the libraries! If you would like to sponsor an Rx for Reading Community Library, a donation of $150 places a library with a new community partner. Every $20 purchases 10 new books for kids to “Take, Read, Share!” Give here: https://impact.udmercy.edu/rxreading
Rx for Reading Library at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, painted by Beth Reeck, art student at the Stamps School of Art and Design. Last summer eleven local artists painted Rx for Reading community libraries at Stamps, a project organized by Rebekah Modrak, Associate Professor of Art at University of Michigan.
Rx for Reading Library at Delray Neighborhood House, painted by Adrian Deva, painter and art educator at University of Michigan. Delray House offers kids in Southwest Detroit opportunities to develop physically, academically, and socially through their after-school program, playground, game room, museum of local artifacts, and even a miniature theatre!
An extra special Rx for Reading Library at Detroit Public Library, seen here with Crystal Jolly, Children’s Librarian of the DPL Parkman Branch. This “book monster” library was painted by Michigan artist David Zinn.
Thank you to every one of our supporters and our community partners who have “made space” for reading! Together we are raising readers and leaders in our community.
In 2015, Rx for Reading Detroit began a valued partnership with Covenant Community Care, a federally qualified health clinic that provides care regardless of patients’ ability to pay. Each year Covenant provides health, dental, and behavioral care to over 18,000 people in Metro Detroit through their seven clinics as well as their home care and homeless outreach programs.
In two years Rx for Reading has provided over 3,500 books to the patients and families at the Covenant Michigan Avenue Health Clinic, another 1,350 books to the Covenant Michigan Avenue Dental Clinic, and 550 books to the Covenant Clinic on Moross. With the help of our generous donors we are able to include new Spanish and bilingual books in every delivery to Covenant clinics in Southwest Detroit.
Dr. Mary Hakim and the other healthcare providers at Covenant know how important reading and access to books is for children’s long-term health and educational outcomes:
“Literacy promotion is critical to pediatric care. Many families living in poverty do not have the funds to purchase books for their home. The Rx for Reading program enables families to have this resource. Providers and clinics can also influence parents’ views on literacy by emphasizing the importance of reading aloud with their children. This helps with language development and literacy, promotes bonding within families, and helps forge a love for reading.”
Dr. Mary Hakim, M.D., Covenant Community Care
Thank you to the families and staff of Covenant Community Care. We are proud to partner with you!
The latest Rx for Reading Detroit free library is inside the McNichols Campus Library at University of Detroit Mercy. Visitors to the library are invited to choose books to “Take, Read, Share” and donate their own books to help keep the library stocked. The McNichols Campus Library is open to the public and serves as a valuable resource for students and members of the community.
The steward for the library, Megan Novell, is on the staff of the McNichols Campus Library and is an adjunct English instructor at University of Detroit Mercy. She also designed and painted the library! The Detroit Mercy library joins over 40 other free libraries installed by Rx for Reading Detroit.
As part of an initiative to promote healthy sleep routines, Rx for Reading donated a collection of 120 new books to 40 very excited preschoolers at Stottlemyer Early Childhood and Family Development Center in Westland, MI.
The healthy sleep initiative was developed by five senior nursing students at University of Detroit Mercy–Jessica Grauer, Haddy Jatta, Ze’Aneia Jiménez, Gabrielle Roti and Reshma Villanassery–and their instructor, Sherry McConnell.
Today’s guest post is written by Ze’Aneia Jiménez.
As a senior nursing student at the University of Detroit Mercy, my community health practicum focused on creating healthy bedtime routines for children age 3-5 who are at risk of developing health disparities related to living at or below the poverty line. Our goal was to develop appropriate interventions to help families establish nighttime routines that support healthy sleep behaviors.A major component of a good sleep routine is reading out loud to children before they go to bed. However, many of the children we worked with do not own books of their own. We needed to help give their families the tools necessary to carry out healthy sleep routines.
Partnering with Rx for Reading was a big part of our success with the students and families at Stottlemyer. The preschoolers were excited to pick out books to read and keep, and they could not wait to show them to their parents. Teachers were also grateful for the help in creating literacy-rich environments at home. We owe everyone at Rx for Reading a huge thank you. We could not have done it without your help and support!
This September, as kids across the country get back into the swing of the school year, the students at Dickinson West Elementary in Hamtramck, MI are the proud new owners of an Rx for Reading library, along with a collection of 300 books they can “Take, Read, Share.”
According to a recent study on “Book Deserts” published in Urban Education, researchers found only one book available for purchase for every 42 children in Hamtramck. This makes it one of the lowest-access communities for children’s books in Michigan. The Rx for Reading library will be a free resource for all of the children and families at Dickinson West, and teachers and community members will help keep it stocked with books that children can take home, read, and keep.
Ms. Bosnjakovsi, 5th grade teacher at Dickinson West, Stuart Tucker, Hamtramck resident and Adjunct faculty of English at University of Detroit Mercy, and Rx for Reading Director Mary-Catherine Harrison.
Ms. Suzana Bosnjakovski’s 5th graders will serve as official library stewards after being “deputized” by Rx for Reading Director Mary-Catherine Harrison at the library unveiling. Thank you to Ms. Bosnjakovski, Dickinson West Principal Corey Pitts, and the entire Dickinson West community for their support of literacy and reading in Hamtramck.
Next up: Dickinson East!
This summer Rx for Reading was able to provide 300 new books for the Christ Church Summer Reading Camp, an annual week-long camp that welcomes children from the Franklin Wright Settlement.
Thank you to Christine Galli, Director of the Christ Church Summer Reading Camp, for writing this guest post!
“We had a great week with close to 30 children and 50 volunteers, and at the end of the week each one of the children had a bagful of books, thanks to the generous donation from Rx for Reading Detroit!” Christine Galli
Guest post by Nicky Marcot, teacher at Westside Christian Academy and community volunteer with Neighbors Building Brightmoor. Nicky is a University of Detroit Mercy alum (English, 2007).
On Detroit’s northwest side neighborhood of Brightmoor, Rx for Reading provided a beautiful collection of high-quality books to Brightmoor Book Squad (BBS). Over the course of two months, Kids ages 1-12 came twice a week for an hour to read together, discuss what they read, complete fun related crafts, and share a healthy snack. The students also chose books to bring home, read, and keep.
The purpose of BBS’s Summer Reading Club was to keep students reading throughout the year, help curb summer slide, and show that reading doesn’t just have to be something they do in school, but can be a fun free-time activity too. Vanessa, the grandmother of ten-year-old participant Dan, said, “I had to force him to come the first day, but after that, he couldn’t wait to come back. I’ve never seen him read this much on his own!” Thank you Rx for Reading for helping get kids like Dan excited about reading, and coming back for more!
Community members Tavia Young, Britt Bradd, Trena Ross and Sky Brown helped run the Brightmoor Book Squad this summer.
Spending the summer with good books is the best way to maintain reading skills and return to school ready to succeed. More importantly, it’s fun!
This year Rx for Reading gave a collection of 180 books to 30 fantastic kids in River Rouge. The Hyacinth Court Summer program provides free day camp for children age 7 to 14 who live in River Rouge public housing. Campers and their families are provided with free breakfast and lunch each day, and campers participate in an array of enrichment and academic activities and take weekly field trips to educational sites in Metro Detroit.
After reading and sharing books at camp this summer the kids will get to choose books they want to take home and keep. Thanks to the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency for including Rx for Reading in the summer fun!Read more about the Youth and Family Services provided through Wayne Metro.
Thanks to our new partnership with Brainiacs Child Development Center on the East Side of Detroit, every preschooler was able to take four brand new books home for the summer. Not only will these incredible kids have the joy of reading with their families this summer, but they will be more prepared for success next school year.
One of the guiding principles of Rx for Reading is that reading happens everywhere. We work to put books anywhere they can get in the hands and hearts of children in Detroit.
Our latest “home” for reading is the Shekinah Tabernacle Gospel Church at 16900 West Chicago.
Shekinah Tabernacle offers a broad range of programming for children in their congregation and the surrounding community.
Thank you to the Shekinah family and to Pastor Reggie Huff and his wife Linda Huff for inviting the latest Rx for Reading Library into their church community. Just look at these happy readers!!!
“The kids love ‘their’ library!” Linda Huff
El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) is an annual celebration of children, families, and reading. Now in its 20th year, Día festivities across the country focus on literacy for children of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
In Southwest Detroit, Día was marked with a huge celebration in Clark Park organized by Matrix Head Start and attended by over 1,500 people. Rx for Reading was proud to contribute 915 new books for children and families who attended the event, including over 400 new Spanish and bilingual books that were funded by the UDM School Psychology Literacy Fund. All of the children who attended the event were encouraged to choose books to take home, read, and keep.
The celebration included favorite book characters, musical and cultural performances, and family activities related to reading and literacy. A highlight was a mock voting booth, where over 500 children voted for their favorite book!
Every day is a day for children and a day for books. Happy Día!
We are thrilled to announce the launch of Rx for Reading Ypsilanti and their first Rx for Reading free library at the Washtenaw WIC Clinic at 555 Towner, Ypsilanti, MI. Washtenaw WIC provides nutritional counseling and food for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to five years of age as well as breastfeeding support and referrals for immunizations, prenatal care, and more.
Now, moms and children will also get to choose a book to take home every time they visit Washtenaw WIC.
Cathy Sanborn, WIC Dietician, and Gayathri Akella, WIC Coordinator with the new Rx for Reading Ypsilanti Library
Rx for Reading Ypsilanti is spearheaded by Kaitlin Browne, an English Literature graduate student at Eastern Michigan University. Kaitlin was inspired by the idea of taking her passion for literature outside of the college classroom and into a setting where literacy can be enjoyed and encouraged at a young age. As Kaitlin describes her own path to reading, “I was fortunate because, although my family didn’t have much money when I was growing up, my mother worked as a clerk at a bookstore. Having access to those books is a huge part of why I study literature today.”
Right after the Rx for Reading Ypsilanti WIC library opened, this little sweetheart and her mom chose a book to read and take home.
Thank you to Kaitlin and to the staff and families at Washtenaw WIC!
“This makes my heart smile. Reading is power!” Erica McLeod, Washtenaw WIC Breastfeeding Peer Educator
Our latest Rx for Reading library is right on the campus of University of Detroit Mercy! UDM’s Counseling Clinic is a no-cost mental health clinic providing individual and group counseling to approximately 250 clients per year. The clinic provides counseling for children and adults for a variety of mental health concerns, including depression, substance use, anger management, anxiety and career counseling.
Nursing major Heather Galli and English and Education major Paige Olekszyk braved the winter weather to deliver the bookcase and books. They were able to fit 365 books onto the book shelves–one for every day of the year. Special thanks to Emilie Wetherington, Director of Disability Support Services at University of Detroit Mercy, for her donation of the bookcase.
Clinical Director Sheri Pickover, Ph.D., LPC spoke to the value of incorporating Rx for Reading into the clinic’s work: “The opportunity to access free reading material provides the children and adults who come to the Counseling Clinic with an improved waiting room experience and a way to obtain often expensive books. The Counseling Clinic is grateful for the ability to offer our clients these resources.”
Rx for Reading at Waller Health Center
In 2015, Rx for Reading distributed 20,000 books to babies, toddlers, kids, and teens in our community. At our 18 Rx for Reading Clinic Libraries, children at health, dental, and WIC clinics choose a book to take home at every visit. At our 3 Head Start partners, preschoolers read with UDM college students and choose a new book to take home every two weeks. And this fall, we expanded our Free Community Library Initiative by installing 12 Rx for Reading Little Free Libraries in community organizations across Detroit.
Rx for Reading at Detroit Center for Family Advocacy
The Rx for Reading Free Community Library Initiative helps integrate literacy into the work of community organizations already serving children, teens, and families in our community. Each library is delivered to its new home along with a collection of 250 books, and everyone visiting the libraries is invited to choose a book to read and take home.
Rx for Reading at LA SED (Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development)
We could not be more proud to partner with these incredible organizations: St. Christine’s Soup Kitchen, LA SED (Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development), Capuchin Services Center, Cabrini Clinic, COTS Detroit, Detroit Center for Family Advocacy, Covenant House, Butzel Family Center, Don Bosco Hall Community Resource Center, Leland Baptist Church, and Spectrum Health’s Lincoln and Calumet Residential Treatment Facilities.
Rx for Reading at the Don Bosco Hall Community Resource Center
Rx for Reading Clinic Libraries and Little Free Libraries create community spaces that celebrate reading and allow thousands of children to choose books to read, love, and keep.
We are so grateful to each and every one of the generous donors and volunteers who made our work possible this year. Hundreds of individuals gave their time, money, expertise, and books.
Rx for Reading at Bright Beginnings
UDM Architecture students with some of the libraries Rx for Reading will be distributing throughout Detroit.
What an incredible day! Over 30 volunteers came together to make our latest literacy initiative a reality–building and painting 12 Rx for Reading Little Free Libraries that Rx for Reading will place with community organizations all over the city, including COTS Shelter and LA Sed Youth Center. Rx for Reading will deliver each library with a collection of 250 books for kids and teens, helping community partners support reading and literacy for the families they serve.
John Mio of John Mio Woodworking not only volunteered his time to build the libraries, but also worked all day to help get them painted and ready for delivery.
John Mio and Mike Casey volunteered their time and expertise to build the libraries. 15 incredible volunteers from Kohl’s stores in West Bloomfield, Troy, and Westland, MI painted the libraries and sorted and packed over 1,250 children’s books to fill them. UDM School of Architecture students finished the roof designs, which were created by local artist Rebekah Modrak. UDM students helped at every stage of the process.
Since 2001, over 1,000,000 Kohl’s employees have volunteered their time to community organizations through the Kohl’s Cares Associates in Action program, and Kohl’s has supported their volunteers with over $97 million in grants to the nonprofits they have served.
University of Detroit Mercy painter Ron Heurtebise helped direct the Kohl’s volunteer crew.
Fr. Gilbert Sunghera, SJ, with students in his Architecture studio course as they work on final touches.
Rx for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison and Student Coordinator Sara Zawacki.
The end result, ready for delivery!
Thank you to everyone who gave their time, talent, energy, and generosity to help build this village. These little libraries will have an enormous impact in our community.
Rx for Reading is proud to support the work of Infant Oral Health, a community outreach program of the UDM School of Dentistry Pediatric Dental Clinic. This collaboration helps spread the message that literacy and dental hygiene are both key to children’s health.
UDM senior dental student David Posthumus reads with Julius and Ahlinius Grant.
Since 2006, Clinical Associate Professor Carolynn Zeitz, RDH, BS, RDA, MA has been taking groups of University of Detroit Mercy senior dental students to Head Start and Early Head Start programs to perform dental exams on children ages 4 months to 4 years of age and talk with the kids about good dental health. Now those kids also get to read with the dental students and take home a brand new book from Rx for Reading!
Since 2014, Rx for Reading has distributed over 1,000 children’s books through the UDM Pediatric Dental Clinic. With the help of the Infant Oral Health Community Outreach Program, we will be able to help foster a lifelong love of reading for even more children.
UDMSD dental students help spread the message: “Brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes and read for twenty minutes a day. 2 x 2 + 20 = A Healthy Mouth and a Healthy Mind!”
Casey Rocheteau was the first ever winner of the Detroit Write-a-House competition. Write a House works to bolster the literary arts community in Detroit by renovating homes in Detroit neighborhoods and giving them to writers, free of charge, forever.
Rocheteau, a poet and performing artist, contributes to Detroit’s vibrant literary scene in print and in performance. But there is another way she contributes to literacy and reading—with the Little Free Library planted in front of her home. Recently Rx for Reading gave Rocheteau over 400 children’s books to help keep her library filled with choices for all of the kids in her neighborhood.
Rocheteau’s Write-a-House is a reader’s paradise.
The 2015 WNBA Detroit Bookwoman Award was presented to Mary-Catherine Harrison, Founder and Executive Director of Rx for Reading, “in recognition of her tireless and passionate work advocating for literacy and community engagement.”
Mary-Catherine Harrison (right) after being presented the Bookwoman Award by Shannon Jones Janeczek (left), President of the WNBA Detroit Chapter and Tanya Davidson (middle), WNBA Detroit Award Chair.
The Women’s National Book Association was founded in 1917 and works to promote reading and support the role of women in the “community of the book”. The Detroit Chapter of the WNBA, founded in 1966, organizes local events related to books, publishing, and reading and supports non-profit organizations that promote literacy and reading, including, in 2015, Rx for Reading Detroit.
Mary-Catherine Harrison is the 17th recipient of the Bookwoman Award, which was first presented by the WNBA Detroit Chapter in 1991. The award honors Michigan women who have made significant contributions to libraries, reading, writing, or publishing. Previous winners include Rochelle Riley, columnist for the Detroit Free Press and tireless advocate for literacy, Colleen Kammer, co-owner of the independent bookstore BookBeat, Naomi Long Madgett, publisher, educator, and Detroit Poet Laureate, Terry Blackhawk, poet and founder of InsideOut Literary Arts Project, and Debra Bonde, Founder and Director of Seedlings Braille Books for Children.
Both Rx for Reading and Seedlings Braille Books for Children work to expand access to children’s books. Here, 2015 Bookwoman Mary-Catherine Harrison with 1992 Bookwoman Debra Bonde.
Mary-Catherine Harrison with Margaret Auer, Treasurer of the WNBA Detroit Chapter and Dean of University Libraries and Instructional Technology at University of Detroit Mercy and Pamela Zarkowski, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at University of Detroit Mercy.
Mary-Catherine Harrison with Rx for Reading volunteers Renesha Smoot Grafton, Maya Faison, and Emily Auten.
Thank you to the Women’s National Book Association and WNBA Detroit for this wonderful recognition of Rx for Reading and our work on behalf of children’s literacy.
RX for Reading Detroit was thrilled to be part of an end-of-summer celebration of reading at New Center Park in Detroit. 
Organized by one of our community partners, Detroit Little Libraries, the event included a public build of Little Free Libraries and a special recognition of Detroit as the fastest growing community of Little Free Libraries in the country. The award was presented to Aliyah Sabree, the Mayor’s Liason to City Council, by Todd Bol, founder of the international Little Free Library movement.
Aliyah Sabree of the Mayor’s Office, Todd Bol of Little Free Libraries, and Kim Kozlowski of Detroit Little Libraries.
Ms. Aliyah Sabree, the Mayor’s Liason to the City Council, accepts the award on behalf of the city.
RX for Reading invited two local preschools to be part of the story hour festivities, which featured Paul Murphy, head speech writer for GM. Paul read the wonderful book “Silly Sally Goes to the Zoo,” written by his late wife Sally Laux Murphy. The book follows Sally, a young girl in a wheelchair, as she meets all the animals–from A to Z–at a crazy, mixed up zoo. The kids loved Sally and her animal adventures.
Paul Murphy reads “Silly Sally Goes to the Zoo.”
RX for Reading Director Mary-Catherine Harrison chats with some of the kids.
All of the children who attended the event chose a new book to take home from RX for Reading, and each of the preschools received a collection of books for their classroom.
RX for Reading volunteer and UDM undergraduate Renesha Smoot Grafton helping kids pick out their books.
Another happy reader–with Doc McStuffins!
Reading throughout the summer is the best way to prevent “summer slide” and go back to school ready to succeed. Plus, it is a really fun way to spend summer in the city!
A Minock Park Summer in the City Camper with the ever-popular Clifford.
This summer RX for Reading partnered with Summer in the City, which offers free, 8-week camps for local kids in seven Detroit locations–Northwest Activity Center, Latino Mission Society, Delray Recreation Center, Ford LaSalle Park and Focus: HOPE, Pasteur Elementary School, Hamtramck Community Center, and Minock Park. Campers get to read, play, do arts and crafts, sports, creative writing, and take Friday Field Trips throughout the city.
More summer reading at Minock Park.
RX for Reading provided a box of writing paper and new and gently used books for all seven Summer in the City camps–750 books in all. Campers got to read many of the books throughout the summer, and at “Finale Friday” kids chose whatever books they wanted to take home.
Summer in the City campers with some of their selections!
Our incredible RX for Reading volunteer and UDM School Psychology graduate student Beth Jordon.
Meet Mary Grahame Hunter–She said the highlight of her day was when a little girl chose “Mama Went to Jail for the Vote” (pictured here). When she asked the little girl if she was sure she answered emphatically, “Yes… I’m positive proudly”. Mary also loved giving a little boy a book on Willy Mays because he said he loved baseball. His grin stretched from ear to ear.
These girls are volunteers with Summer in the City. Yeva, on the right, immigrated from the Ukraine when she was 4. She said she had inspiring teachers that taught her the love of books, and that’s why today she is a Sociology & Pre-med Sophomore at Amherst. Mika, on the left, refused to read in grade school, but in middle school discovered Harry Potter and hasn”t stopped reading since. She is now a sophomore at Oakland university.
Lola loves stories–A Lola le encantan los cuentos!
This little boy, pictured here with his sisters and mother, said as they started to walk away, “Mama, can I go back and sit in the van because I want to read my book?”
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our second RX for Reading Little Free Library, outside of St. Frances Cabrini Clinic, the oldest free clinic in the country.
Located at 1234 Porter Street in historic Corktown, Cabrini provides primary care, prescription assistance, and mental health care to uninsured patients, as well as offering community education classes like healthy cooking and yoga. The library’s location is perfect, surrounded by community garden beds, next door to the Murphy Playlot, and around the block from Most Holy Trinity School.
Thank you to the Executive Director of Cabrini, Kelly Herron, MAPS, and Alisa Smith, DPN, Clinical Nurse Manager and University of Detroit Mercy alumna. Alisa will serve as official library steward. RX for Reading filled it to the brim with 100 books and delivered another 350 to help keep it replenished with great books for kids.
Extra special incredible thanks to Americorps VISTA volunteers Erik Krieger and Maya Faison, who built and “planted” the library for RX for Reading Detroit. They have created something new and lasting for this Detroit neighborhood!
Material support for the RX for Reading Little Free Library was provided by a Mission Micro Grant from the University of Detroit Mercy.
RX for Reading was thrilled to spend a gorgeous Wednesday at the Southwest Solutions Thrive by Five Family Fun Fair in Patton Park Recreation Center. We distributed over 350 brand new books to children and their families!
Recent UDM alum Sarah Casnovsky (English major, Class of 2015) and School Psychology graduate students Beth Jordon and Jamie Reynolds helped kids pick out the perfect book and talked with parents about the value of reading together.
Beth Jordon is not only working towards her Psy-S at UDM, she is also single mom of four. At the Thrive by Five event she was able to bond with other parents over the value of storytime. Many of the parents were thrilled to find books in Spanish that they could share with their children, and Beth was able to talk with other moms about the adventures and fun that reading inspires.
As Beth puts it, “if you learn to read and love it, the world and such rich opportunities are wide open to you!” Here is Beth and Dora the Explorer, with (of course) one of the Dora books kids could choose.
Happy Summer Reading from RX for Reading Detroit!
One of our goals at RX for Reading Detroit is to help grow a culture of reading.
That goal is perfectly aligned with the 
international Little Free Library movement, which aims to “plant” tiny libraries in public spaces across the globe–in parks, on streetcorners, by schools and bus stops.
Detroit Little Libraries is working to make our city the Little Free Library Capital of the World. Their ambitious goal: plant 313 of these bird houses for books in Detroit.
Our own RX for Reading Little Free Library on McNichols and Oak Street has already distributed over 500 children’s books to kids in our community.
We were thrilled to share the love with another Little Free Library at the Detroit Loves You Guest Home in the Virginia Park neighborhood. Proprietor Nathan Andren picked up 300 books from RX for Reading to help keep this fabulous Little Free Library on Hazelwood Street stocked with great picks for children and teens. Thanks, Nathan, for helping bring books to the heart of the city!
The newly stocked library at the Detroit Loves You Guest Home.
From Nathan Andren, proprietor of the Detroit Loves you Guest Home:
Detroit Loves You Guest Home, Where Your Visit Helps Uplift and Transform Detroit. Established in 2010, DLY was the first of over 400 Airbnbs that are now operating in Detroit. Our mission is to facilitate guests’ meaningful experiences with Detroit and Detroiters, while their stays benefit the Virginia Park neighborhood and city at large. We do this by setting aside 10% of gross revenue for neighborhood organizations like the Hazelwood Block Club, external property improvements such as our community garden, and neighborhood and citywide initiatives like Detroit Little Free Library Capital of the World.
Thank you to Salem Elementary School and Principal Ray Metcalf for a generous summer donation to RX for Reading Detroit! Not only did Salem donate great books, but they also gave six additional boxes of writing paper, building blocks, and counting tiles. Salem’s supplies will make great “Back to School” packages as RX for Reading gears up for the fall and continues to promote literacy as the core of all learning.
Salem Elementary Field Day
Principal Metcalf!
Where do you get the best books for kids? From kids!
In honor of March is Reading Month, Bach Elementary School ran a school-wide book drive for RX for Reading Detroit. They set an ambitious goal: collect 1,000 books in one month, enough to create an RX for Reading Clinic Library and sustain it for one year.
Bach met that goal…and quadrupled it! The kids, families, and teachers at Bach collected 4,033 books, enough to establish THREE RX for Reading Clinic Libraries. With their hard work and generosity, RX for Reading was able to build libraries at the new Children’s Health Center in Midtown, the ACC Behavioral Health Clinic on Seven Mile, and the ACC Behavioral Health and Primary Care Clinic in Dearborn.
Special thanks to Elameno-Peace for their help 
organizing the book drive, the Bach Elementary 4th Grade Service Squad for their hard work collecting and sorting the books, and the Bach Elementary PTO for their support. Elameno-Peace sponsored prizes for the three classrooms that collected the most books, and supporters of Bach and RX for Reading sponsored a $100 prize if Bach met its overall goal. The RX for Reading Prize will be used to purchase books with characters from diverse backgrounds for the Bach Elementary Library.
This is what kids can accomplish when they work together to make a difference. THANK YOU, BACH!
The 4th Grade Service Squad made the book drive a reality. Here they are at the announcement of the book drive.
The Service Squad decorated and distributed collection bins and served as “ambassadors” to each classroom. Each week, they collected and counted books and made announcements to the school about progress towards their goal.
RX for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison presents the RX for Reading Prize. Ann Arbor musicians Gemini and storyteller Laura Raynor were on hand for the celebration.
The kids were excited about the prizes, but much more excited about working together for literacy and social justice. Many of them picked out their very favorite books to contribute to the book drive and convinced siblings and friends to donate too.
Please contact us if you would like to make a donation to RX for Reading or are a school or community organization that would like to run an RX for Reading Book Drive!
One of our very first RX for Reading Clinic Libraries has moved! Children’s Health Center, part of Advantage Health Centers, is now located inside the Waller Health Center in midtown Detroit. CHC provides high-quality health care to under- and uninsured patients, offering care to children and their families. CHC staff physician, Erin Walton-Doyle, MD, is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Internal Medicine.
Dr. Walton-Doyle knows, reading is essential to children’s health! When the Children’s Health Center moved they packed up the RX for Reading Library and took it with them. We just replenished the library with another 365 books so their pediatric patients can continue to pick out a book to take home at every single checkup. Thank you to Dr. Walton-Doyle, the CHC staff, and all the kids and families at Children’s Health Center!
Christopher Boston and his Mom pick out a new book
The Girl Scout Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can earn. It is awarded to a troop that works together to make positive change in their community and world.
To earn their Bronze Award, the girls in Troop 40001 decided to work together to support literacy in their community. We are so grateful for their donation of over 2,000 children’s books to RX for Reading Detroit! It was a privilege to work together to sort their books and prep them for delivery to two RX for Reading Clinic Libraries in Southwest Detroit. What an incredible group of young people!
Girl Scout Junior Troop 40001 with RX for Reading Executive Director Mary-Catherine Harrison and some of the books they collected.
RX for Reading Detroit can only do the work we do because of organizations like Girl Scout Troop 40001. If you have books to donate or if you are part of a community organization that would like to run an RX for Reading Book Drive, please contact us. We have had Book Drives organized by preschools, elementary and middle schools, churches, libraries, even a yoga studio! Book Drives can be as big or little as you want, and RX for Reading provides all the materials you need.
Thank you to Girl Scout Junior Troop 40001 for your work on behalf of children’s literacy. You helped make our community stronger!
The newest addition to the University of Detroit Mercy neighborhood is the RX for Reading Little Free Library in the Gesu Community Green! Little Free Libraries are community gathering spaces where neighbors can read, borrow, and share books with others in their community. The Gesu Community Green, a neighborhood park at McNichols and Oak Drive on the west side of Detroit, is the perfect spot for our first RX for Reading Little Free Library.
Special thanks to the University of Detroit Mercy Mission Micro Grant program for material support and Emilie and Terry Wetherington for building and installing the library. RX for Reading will keep the library stocked with children’s books for all kids in the community to enjoy.
We had a great time at the “Bookies and Cookies” library launch party (you can see video of the “official” unveiling on YouTube). The celebration was made possible by UDM undergraduate volunteers Samantha Schurg, Sydney Rozycki, Robiane Banks, and Kristin Hnatio and volunteers from the UDM School Psychology graduate program led by Dr. Erin Henze: Fatimah Muhammad, Heather Bishop, Sandybel Quintana, Nikia Duncan, and Alicia Burditt.
Thank you also to Gesu Volunteer Coordinator Anita Sevier, who helped make a home for the RX for Reading Little Free Library; to the UDM Titans who helped “plant” the library and celebrate its unveiling; to the kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders at Gesu School who welcomed the library to their neighborhood and promised to serve as “special library stewards”; and to all of the guests who helped make the library launch a huge success, including Margaret Auer, Dean of University Libraries at University of Detroit Mercy, Christa Laurin, Principal of Gesu School, and Fr. Nathan Wendt, Associate Pastor of Gesu Church.
Come visit the RX for Reading Little Free Library, borrow a book, or bring some to share with neighbors!
RX for Reading distributes a lot of picture books and early readers, but reading is a lifelong activity! It was especially fun to put together the RX for Reading Library at the Healthy Teens Community Care Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. From Louise Erdrich to Lois Lowry, Twilight to The Hunger Games, we hope the teens at HTC3 find plenty of books for their reading pleasure!
Thanks to the incredible staff at Healthy Teen Community Care Center! From left to right: Jade Burns, HTC3 Director; Ora Taunton- Medical assistant; Ronida Powell – MSU Intern; Jasmine Smothers – Clinic administrative assistant; Dr. Norris Polk – Medical director
The mission of the DCHC Healthy Teen Center is to provide community-based primary and mental health care services, health education, information on preventive and safety behaviors to youth aged 10-21 and up to age 26 for individuals with special needs; to offer a multifaceted array of services that will be accessible and available, confidential, culturally sensitive and age-appropriate with comprehensive health care planning; to promote awareness and involvement with healthy lifestyle choices and encourage youth to take responsibility for the care of their health; to provide counseling and peer-group involvement to deter them from unhealthy behaviors, and to expose youth to health care as a career choice.
Thanks for including RX for Reading Detroit in the incredible work you do for teens in our community!
Thank you, United Children and Family Head Start, for inviting RX for Reading Detroit to your Math and Science Open House!
UCFHS knows that reading is the foundation of ALL learning. Every year, families and teachers from their eight Head Start programs come together to celebrate their children and highlight their discoveries in math and science.
This year, RX for Reading Student Coordinator Sara Zawacki helped 260 children pick new books to take home. Talk about a day of reading and learning!
Linda Wesley, Community Relations Manager for Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, stopped by.
UCFHS kids know: READING IS A SUPER POWER!
Thank you AmeriCorps, The LEAGUE Michigan, and the Read n’ Give project for your support of RX for Reading Detroit!
Maya Faison and Erik Krieger, two incredible members of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, delivered and sorted 1,700 BOOKS to be distributed through RX for Reading Clinic Libraries. Many of the books were donated by students and teachers across the city of Detroit, and now they will find new homes with kids and families in our community.
Individuals and community partners working together for literacy is what RX for Reading is all about.
Rx for Reading Detroit 
