“Imagination is a tool. And literacy hones that tool. For a child wondering ‘what do I want to be when I grow up,’ a love of reading changes the limits.” – Dr. Mary Jan Bancroft

 

The story of Make Way for Books began 25 years ago with one person recognizing a huge need in her community and deciding to help fill it.

 

“Having two young children at that time helped me to know that our daughters had every advantage possible. I just wanted to be able to share that with other kids and I knew it was a possible thing to do.”

 

In 1998, Dr. Mary Jan Bancroft, a former professor in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, answered a newspaper listing to read to four-year-olds at a preschool in Tucson, only to find that this center did not have age-appropriate, quality picture books. Looking a little deeper, Mary Jan found that most of the childcare centers serving economically disadvantaged children in the area had few to zero quality books for young children.

  

“Education is so key to success in our world. And the earlier it starts, the further it can take you.”

 

Mary Jan founded Make Way for Books that same year, and with the support of six volunteers, began providing books to under-resourced sites and offering early literacy workshops for educators and parents.

 

“It started small and simple. We were going to child care centers, but we learned that the majority of children were in their homes, cared for by parents or grandparents because child care is expensive. So we began knocking on doors. We’d go to apartment managers and put up flyers. One or two parents might show up for our program and they’d see that this is fun, and free books, and soon word of mouth would get more families involved. And we found that apartment communities would continue to meet after we left.”

 

Developing a love for reading together can have profound effects on every member of the family, young and old.

 

“Children who have the opportunity to become bilingual or multilingual are at a huge advantage. But for parents who have English as a second language, when they are exposing their children to very simple books, they're learning themselves.”

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“Children who grow up in a Make Way for Books kind of life, or have had that kind of beginning are going to continue to be readers. And then when they have children, they're going to read to their babies and they're going to just know that this is important.”

 

Why is early literacy so important?

 

“Research has shown the profound importance of early childhood education on a child’s future, that early exposure to books and reading lowers rates of incarceration, teen pregnancy, high school dropouts…”

 

Because a little success goes a long way.

 

“Children who have these skills as they're developing, birth through five when they walk in the door in kindergarten, they're being successful. When older children, like 3rd graders, say they don’t like reading, it’s because they're not successful at it. This is tragic and preventable. Just a little success changes everything. And the earlier the better.

 

Today, Make Way for Books has a staff of 27 and dozens of volunteers, and last year we provided thousands of books and innovative programming to more than 30,000 children, families, and educators throughout Arizona.

 

“The reason it's been successful is that so many people share a passion and belief in what needs to happen for very young children. It’s all the people in the family of Make Way for Books that collectively has enabled us to come this far.”

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 And 25 years of growth and service is only the beginning.

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“I think we can go bigger, we can go national and we can go worldwide. I mean why not think big right? Once again I feel like education is the key to success and the more we help people around the world, the better all of our lives are going to be.”