Sit Stay Read!

Did you know that July 18th is Nelson Mandela International Day (and his birthday!), established in 2009 to celebrate his legacy and call on us to volunteer in service of others? The call to action? 67 minutes of service to honor his 67-year fight against apartheid. I am embarrassed to say that I did not, but thanks to The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, I do now! What a pleasure to stop by their Spirit of Nelson community celebration and meet so many who answer the call to service. A beautiful day to celebrate the transformational leadership of one man as well as the power of collective action whether it be across the world or our own back yards. Chicago Sister Cities International Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance Sit Stay Read! #communityservice #Volunteer

The idea of the library as conduit to Chicago engagement is front and center with our second annual volunteer/job fair. My colleagues Kendall and Aldo are the brains behind this large event that invites adults at different stages of their lives to get to know the city through service and work. The opportunity to provide a platform for some of these very small non-profit organizations who's survival is dependent on volunteers is clearly something that resonates with younger adults especially. Join us because we'll have coffee, paletas and resume review service for all! I would like to tag all the organizations, but there are too many! Check out the list here. https://lnkd.in/g7dYy6HG

Reading for Pleasure Is More Than a Hobby—It’s One of the Strongest Predictors of a Child’s Future Success. What if one of the most powerful ways to shape a child’s future took just 10 minutes a day? In a new Los Angeles Times op-ed, Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK CEO David Shelley explores the growing decline in reading for pleasure among children, why it matters, and what parents, caregivers, educators, publishers, and communities can do to help reverse the trend. Drawing on research from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the OECD, the piece examines the relationship between reading for pleasure and children’s academic achievement, mental well-being, empathy, and long-term success. It also addresses challenges such as declining reading rates, book deserts, and reduced access to books. At Hachette, this work is at the heart of #RaisingReaders, our global initiative encouraging families to make reading for pleasure part of children’s daily lives; starting with just 10 minutes a day. 📖 Read David Shelley’s full op-ed below. #ReadingIsGolden #Literacy #Publishing #HachetteBookGroup https://lnkd.in/gsSrFZvM

Sit Stay Read! has a book club, and is led by #BookBuddy extraordinaire, Mike Rouse III, MBA. Our first read is Don't Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It, by Maria Krysan and Tonika Johnson. Get your copy at your local Chicago Public Library branch or local independent bookstore. If you would like to be added to our Bookclubs app group, message me and I'll send a link. Join our community on Saturday, June 27 from 2-4 pm to discuss! This is a wonderful opportunity to meet other SitStayRead volunteers, literacy lovers, and Chicago natives at Alemendro Cafe housed on the street level of the Hyde Park Art Center!

I'm biased, but I think the best thing a child can do this summer is fall in love with reading. That's why I'm excited that this weekend Chicago Public Library launches Summer at CPL 2026: Chapters of Chicago across our 81 neighborhood libraries. What begins as a summer challenge often becomes so much more: a family reading tradition, including my own! Across Chicago, we hear from parents and caregivers about library visits that become weekly routines, favorite books read again and again, and the joy of watching a child discover a story they can't put down. Reading builds families. And while we know reading supports school success and future careers, it should first and foremost be joyful. This year's theme, Chapters of Chicago, celebrates the stories, neighborhoods, creativity, history, and people that make our city extraordinary. Every neighborhood has a story, and this summer we're inviting children and families to celebrate. We hope you'll join us this weekend as we kick off another summer of reading, discovery, and joy at Chicago's libraries. Last summer, more than 37,500 children participated in Summer at CPL, attending 3,750 programs and receiving more than 70,000 books, family activity guides, and hands-on learning kits. Thank you to our incredible Chicago Public Library staff, especially Lori Frumkin, Alexa Hamilton, Valerye Redovan, Kendall Kidder-Goshorn, and Esmeralda Bueno, and of course the Chicago Public Library Foundation and its generous supporters who make this work possible.

What happens when children’s literacy, community storytelling, and dogs come together? Over the past several months, our Cause Marketing Initiative | Northwestern Medill team had the opportunity to work with Sit Stay Read!, a Chicago nonprofit that supports children’s literacy through the power of reading, mentorship, and certified reading-assistance dogs. Throughout the project, we developed digital communication resources to help SitStayRead strengthen its storytelling and extend the reach of its mission. Our work included creating a social media handbook, supporting content strategy, filming five read-along videos in both Spanish and English, and attending SitStayRead’s Bark n’ Ball event to better understand the organization’s community engagement in person. One of the most meaningful parts of this experience was seeing how SitStayRead brings literacy to life beyond the page. From volunteer-led reading videos to the Dog of the Year celebration at Bark n’ Ball, we saw how dogs can help create a warm, encouraging environment where children feel more comfortable engaging with books. This project also taught us an important lesson: usability matters more than complexity. For a nonprofit team, strong recommendations need to be practical, clear, and sustainable. Our goal was not just to create polished deliverables, but to build resources that SitStayRead can continue using after our project ends. A heartfelt thank you to Sit Stay Read! and Deirdre Harrison CFRE for trusting our team and allowing us to contribute to such meaningful work. I’m also grateful to the Cause Marketing Initiative | Northwestern Medill team for this opportunity, and to my teammates Gloria Chen, Amy Sun, and Kaiyi Zhong for their thoughtful collaboration throughout the process. It has been a meaningful experience, and I’m proud of what we were able to build together.