A gifted magazine sparks a memory of an early MagLiteracy.org mentor – Austin Kiplinger

I was privileged to work with Austin Kiplinger in the early 80s, when he was the Chairman of my college Board of Directors and I was the head of our campus government.

We sat down about ten years later to discuss an idea to use magazines for literacy. Although Austin and his family built up a well known financial media house, he was a humble man, an old school journalist, and a philanthropist who cared especially about improving the lives of children and families around Washington DC and beyond.

I sat in his office that day listening to how much he loved children’s magazines like Highlights for Children.

A few years later, the Kiplinger family made the first financial investment of $2500 in our fledgling literacy idea in front of the Barnes & Noble newsstand in Alexandria VA.

So, it was especially memorable today to return to a newsstand at Barnes & Noble, and to find these among so many wonderful additions to our literacy inventory. More to come.