Skip to main content

Interview With Non-profit Org



Non-Profit - Interview


Today we have the incredible opportunity to learn about fascinating literacy projects, how this non-profit - Kids Need To Read - is run, the ways they entice and manage volunteers, different networking techniques and so much more! 

First, let's learn a little about today's guest: Jessica Payne.

Literacy and literature are Jessica's deepest passions. While in the midst of her teaching career she volunteered for two years before serving on the organization's board. After three years of board service, she resigned to join the staff as Kids Need to Read's Operations Director in 2019. Jessica is now the Executive Director.


Websitehttps://www.kidsneedtoread.org

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kidsneedtoread

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidsneedtoread

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidsneedtoread



Q: How long has the organization existed?

A: Kids Need to Read started as a group charity project in 2007 that collected and distributed books to different organizations. After a successful and eye-opening year, it was founded as a nonprofit corporation in 2008 by PJ Haarsma, Denise Gary, and Nathan Fillion. Every year, Kids Need to Read grows a little and reaches more children across the country.





Q: What kinds of services are offered through your organization?

A: Kids Need to Read offers three main programs that are flexible in order to best meet the needs of those that we serve. We work primarily with schools, libraries, services, and other agencies that serve children directly. All of our programs provide books without cost to the recipient.

Our flagship program, called From Our Shelves to Yours, works to fill the needs of requests outside of a 10-hour driving distance from our headquarters in Mesa, Arizona. We have so many opportunities to help in each state and even though we are limited by inventory and shipping funds we try to fill as many as we can in as many states as we can. Kids Need to Read supports so many innovative and needful projects with literary treasures, from a community coming together to build their own library by hand to programs for survivors of domestic violence, to schools wanting to start their own Little Free Libraries

Unlike existing mobile lending libraries, The Page Coach carries on KNTR’s tradition of providing substantial book donations, both to libraries and to individual children in the hopes of expanding their own personal libraries. But that’s only the beginning.

Designed to engage unlike anything of its kind, the Coach brings an entirely interactive experience anywhere its wheels stop turning. From read-along and literary handouts to appearances by children’s authors and special guests, every place visited means the launch of an immersive reading adventure for all the kids involved.

Kids Need to Read's Grow Your Library's three-pronged program first donates a collection of new books to each selected rural library. Then after a personal visit to share story time with the children, Gary and Tina Mlodzik, who are the program leads and board members, issue a challenge to everyone in attendance, encouraging them to lead by example by turning their own love of reading into even more gifts for their community. For every child who reports back through a special email within a set time after the presentation, another book is donated on that child's behalf, with a bookplate inside the cover to commemorate their contribution. The response has been as positive as it is heartwarming with Kids Need to Read receiving reports sometimes years later about how much of an impact the program has had on the community.


Q: What kinds of activities can a volunteer expect to find there? 

A: Kids Need to Read is always grateful to its volunteers even if we do not have a consistent need for them. 

Opportunities that sometimes require volunteers sometimes include community events where we get to interact directly with parents and children. 

Or special projects that open up in the warehouse which may include inventory, organization, or preparing for several events that are scheduled.



Q: How does the organization communicate effectively with staff or donors? 

A: Kids Need to Read works hard to maintain transparency about the organization with monthly newsletters, social media posts, and frequent updates for board members and staff. With a small staff of 4 employed persons, it is relatively easy to keep everybody "in the know" with our Google suite tools.


Q: How did you personally become involved in this organization?


A: 
In 2014 I met a volunteer at Kids Need to Read at the local pop culture convention Phoenix Comic-con (now Phoenix Fan Fusion) who convinced me that Kids Need to Read would be a place where I could make a difference outside of my classroom. 

After two years of volunteering, I was approached by Denise Gary, (co-founder and Executive Director) and offered a position on the Board. I served there and continued to volunteer where I could for roughly three years. 

In 2019 I reached a point where I felt I needed to leave the classroom. Denise approached me with the idea that I would come work for KNTR with the goal of her retiring and promoting me to the Executive Directorship. With board approval of this plan, that is what we did with me being promoted to ED after about a year as the Operations Director.


Q: What is involved in your position?

A: As Executive Director, my duties involve all of the communication, social media, and networking needs for Kids Need to Read. I also maintain the budget and write grants or research sponsorships with the goal of expanding our reach. My duties also include planning KNTR's participation in community and school events. I also attend almost every event that KNTR is invited to. I can and do help with maintaining inventory and even pulling books for grant fulfillment as needed.


Q: What kind of networking activities has this organization participated in?

A: You may know the old joke about "showing up to the opening of an envelope". I can think of nothing better to describe the way that Kids Need to Read operates. We will go to just about any event we are directly invited to and I will adjust programming to best fit whatever the event is. Sometimes we come to events to talk to parents, sometimes to educators, and sometimes to children (of all ages)! Our message that reading is important and having access to books helps you to be successful is tailored for each audience.


Q: How do you go about networking with other organizations re: collaborations?

A: When invited to participate, Kids Need to Read prefers to know exactly what expectations and goals are for each event. So prior to the event I will have at least one discussion with the organizers of the event where we plan together about how we can best meet the purpose of the event.


Q: What are some of the positive results that have been achieved because of this organization's efforts? 

A: Kids Need to Read provided reading resources to 177 literacy programs in 46 states and the District of Columbia during 2021-2022. Together, these programs received a total of 168,318 books and other reading resources valued at $1,183,800. Approximately 83 percent of the 104,016 children served lived at or below the poverty level.

Not all literacy needs are the same. That is why at Kids Need to Read it makes sense to work with each grant recipient individually to make sure that our organization meets as many needs as possible.


Kids Need to Read
has invented numerous tools to accomplish this. We have storybook characters like pirates, mermaids, and even Christmas cat ladies who will visit libraries and schools to bring excitement into story time and book choosing. 

We have the Wheel of Literacy where children spin to determine their “literary fate” which brings the feeling of winning when it comes to reading.

Kids Need to Read’s Page Coach is decorated with fun and elaborate characters designed by artist Travis Hansen. Its fantastical scenes inspire delight and wonder in children and adults alike as we arrive at events. One event at Whitter Elementary School this year even had children seeking characters hidden on the coach.

From Story Times to career days, book giveaways to community events, our service is about more than how many books we send out of the warehouse. Kids Need to Read strives to make a truly deep and lasting impact on the vulnerable children we serve. To help all discover the joy of reading and the power of a literate mind.

Comments