Sharing our Love of Reading
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United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

Sharing our Love of Reading

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February 22, 2015

Margy Stratton
Founder of Milwaukee Reads, Founding Emerging Leaders Co-chair

I love reading children’s literature! Growing up, the highlight of every school year for me was the annual Book Fair and the authors who would come to visit with students. I also have very fond memories of Saturday trips with my father to Jeannette Schaefer’s bookshop on Milwaukee’s east side. I still live surrounded by books!  My children do as well. And we love to share our passion for them.

My three kids and I have really appreciated being a part of United Way’s Emerging Readers program the past few years!  We hope that we are helping emerging readers build a home library for themselves and their families. The children we have been matched with get specially picked book selections from us, along with bookmarks, an occasional little toy (yo-yos have been a big hit) and/or school supplies, all in a book bag or backpack. My kids may each write a note about their favorites, or indicate if an author or illustrator has signed the books (also a big hit, of course!).

One of our favorite parts of the Emerging Readers program is getting adorable thank you notes from our matches, and one in particular has stuck with us because it ended with, “I hope I can see you in real-life.” How great is that!

It has been great fun to share our love of books with others in this way. It is a dream of ours that all children in the Milwaukee area have books of their own that they will cherish.