Past activities

Mary believed in cultivating children's ability to read. She loved books, and she loved helping kids overcome reading difficulties. Our fund aims to continue supporting that ability that she believed so strongly in. Here are a few of the specific activities we've supported since launching the fund:

Book donations

Students can never have enough books! We've donated dozens of books to the Hamilton Elementary School's library. And most recently, we've expanded the collection of books that the school uses in its RTI program, which aims to help kids who are having trouble with certain reading concepts by focusing on reading fundamentals such as vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. These books will help

Visiting writers

For years, Hamilton Elementary School has invited authors of children's books to visit the school. These author visits are a great way for the children to meet someone whose work they know, to learn about writing, and to just have fun meeting a real-life published author.

Financial assistance from our fund has made it possible for the school to have visits from authors that may otherwise have been out-of-reach, or enabled the author to stay longer and visit with more students than usual.

We supported a visit from children's author Leslie Helakoski, the author of kids' favorites Woolbur and Big Chickens, among others.

We were also pleased to help sponsor a visit from author and teacher Jim Aylesworth. Mr. Aylesworth has written more than 25 children's books, including The Tale of Tricky Fox, The Burger and the Hot Dog, and Naughty Little Monkeys.