What's Happening in Madison?

By Ken Johnson, treasurer, MagLiteracy Board of Directors, and director, MagLiteracy Wisconsin

Greetings from Madison and our dedicated core group of volunteers — Kris Schwartz, Mark Krueger, Ginny Nachreiner and me. The months leading into summer are our busiest, especially this year. Here is a recap of recent donations we made to terrific local partner organizations to promote literacy among the children and adults they serve.

Focus on Early Childhood

Families attending a free diaper and resources event sponsored by Family & Childcare Services of Northeast Wisconsin in Green Bay received free preschool books donated by HIghlights for Children.

Since 2021, we have distributed more than 40,000 items to 27 childcare and family support services agencies across the state through our partnership with Thriving Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy association. Highlights for Children donated the 4,000 books and magazines we distributed in May for preschoolers up to age five, a critical stage for early literacy development.

“This is such an amazing partnership and is truly impacting families and children in local communities!” said Thriving Wisconsin’s Connie Dunlap.

Engaging With Elementary School Students

two students writing at a desk — Carey Elementary was among 10 Madison area public schools that participated in our “a magazine for every child” promotion in May.

The gap between the reading scores of Wisconsin’s Black and white students is the widest of any state in the nation, and the gap for Madison’s students is even greater than it is for students statewide. Seventy-four percent of Madison’s white students read at or above grade level, while only 13% of Black students do. As Madison’s schools continue to become far more racially diverse, this crisis has profound implications.

MagLiteracy is in the fifth year of an effort to provide Madison’s elementary students with engaging things to read that help them along the path to literacy. Each fall and spring, we provide school librarians with a magazine selection that includes one for every child. To date, we have provided 18,000 magazines to 20 of Madison’s elementary schools. Our latest delivery of 3,500 items in May included first-time partners Kennedy Elementary and Carey Elementary, which opened its doors in 2023.

Feeding Young Minds

a child looks through magazines in boxes at a farmer's market while two volunteers, seated, look on. — Our table with free children’s magazines at a busy Madison farmer’s market in May attracted many youngsters, helped by volunteers Kris and Ryan Shwartz (far right).

The Dane County Farmers’ Market in Madison provided the opportunity to distribute magazines to kids eager to read. Highlights for Children, Cricket Media and The National Wildlife Federation donated the magazines. The Dane County market is the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the U.S., attracting thousands of shoppers every Saturday from April into November.

Expanding Access to Reading Material

a young child opens the door to a Free Little Library to look at the books inside — Little Free Library boxes provide children ready access to engaging magazines, especially during school vacations.

The Little Free Library (LFL) movement began in Wisconsin, and Madison is home to scores of LFL boxes citywide. With a recent increase in volunteers, we distributed 4,100 items to LFL boxes in the first half of 2025, doubling our pace from 2024. One of LFL’s missions is to increase book access to low-income communities and increase the literacy rate. LFL has helped us identify box locations at housing complexes, schools and community centers that serve low-income areas. We currently supply items to a dozen such boxes each month and hope to add more.

Replacing Damaged Books and Magazines

A group of children stands near a tree and cabin smiling and waving. — Children at Phantom Lake Camp were excited to receive 5,000 magazines from us.

Flooding at Phantom Lake YMCA camp in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, ruined its supply of reading materials for kids. MagLiteracy volunteer Kris Schwartz contacted the organization and delivered 5,000 donated magazines to provide materials for the camp’s summer season. Cricket Media donated the magazines. Phantom Lake has provided both day and resident camp programs for over 125 years, including financial assistance for participants in need.

Welcome WayForward!

Volunteers stand in front of a truck and hold a large banner that reads "WayForward resources." — WayForward Resources supports food security and housing stability to those in need on Madison’s far west side.

We are pleased to add WayForward Resources on Madison’s far west side in Middleton, Wisconsin, to our monthly delivery of magazines. WayForward helps those in need by providing food, clothing, housing assistance, emergency financial assistance and special services for seniors. Hispanic families represent a sizable portion of those served.

Chicago Partnerships: A School in Need

Three children sit and read magazines. — We provided more than 700 magazines to eager students at the Burbank School library just in time for summer vacation.

Burbank School serves 720 students from pre-K through eighth grade on Chicago’s northwest side. Almost 90% of students come from low-income Hispanic families, and 59% are English learners. In a May effort made possible by donations from the National Wildlife Federation and Highlights for Children, we delivered a magazine for every student.
“The students love the magazines, especially at the end of the year when book checkout stops,” said librarian Carolyn Sauer.

Chicago Partnerships: An Innovative Literacy Program

Two men stand beside boxes of books and magazines in a room with shelves of books — Will Planek and first-time volunteer Sean from Our Future Reads were happy to receive 2,000 little books and magazines to support literacy programs on Chicago’s west side.

We were pleased to donate 2,000 magazines and books to Our Future Reads, a nonprofit organization on Chicago’s far west side that provides reading material to over 3,400 families and individuals a year through 15 partner organizations and innovative fund-raising strategies such as its Mission Curiosity Bookstore.

“Thanks again for helping out the community here in Chicago. We are excited to share with our partners,” said Executive Director Franklin Taylor.