With Help, Indy Families Bring Home Books Kids Want to Read – From Mirror Indy and The 74

This story was originally published on Mirror Indy, and can also be found on The74.org

For many families, building a home library can be a challenge – especially when kids have different reading interests and abilities. But one Indianapolis mom named Jessica Davis has found a creative way to cultivate her children’s love of reading through a grant program.

Davis has three kids – a bookworm daughter who devours multiple books at once, one son who avoids reading, and another son with autism who needs extra stimulation. To engage each of them, Davis has filled her home with all kinds of books – chapter books, picture books, fantasy novels, sports biographies, and stories featuring successful Black heroes.

But purchasing over 200 books for a home library is no small expense. That’s where The Mind Trust, a local nonprofit, came in. Over the past four years, the organization has provided small literacy grants from $500 to $5,000 to dozens of families in Indianapolis.

Davis received two rounds of funding totaling $4,500. She used the money to build out a cozy reading nook with beanbags, rugs, and shelves – creating an inviting space to spend time with books. She carefully selected titles to reflect her family’s cultural backgrounds and interests.

The grants have allowed Davis to accelerate her home literacy efforts in a way that would have taken years to accomplish on her own limited budget. And it’s paying off – Davis says all of her kids’ reading scores have improved significantly.

Kateri Whitley from The Mind Trust emphasizes that the Go Farther Literacy Fund isn’t just about skill-building. “It’s building community,” she says, by giving families resources to cultivate reading as a shared experience.

For Jessica Davis, that means opening up her home library to neighborhood kids without access to many books. Her hope is to continually refresh her collection through future grant cycles, creating an oasis for children to discover the joy of reading.

As states like Indiana work to improve stagnant literacy rates through tutoring programs and policy changes, grassroots efforts like these home libraries provide another innovative model to help get kids hooked on books.