Raising

Readers

The goal of the Raising Readers book rack program is to get high quality children's literature into homes that otherwise might not have access to it. There currently are racks in Green Lake, Berlin, Ripon, and Markesan in locations such as clinics, banks, dentists' offices, County Human Services--places where families typically must wait for services. Many of the inexpensive Scholastic Press softcover editions used are Caldecott and Newbery award winners, and many titles are also in Spanish. Each book has a label that encourages families to "Start me here - Take me along to finish - Pass me on to a friend."

The bulk of the funding for Raising Readers has come from the Alliant Energy Foundation. Substantial contributions have also come from Baylake Bank, Farmers & Merchants Bank, and WalMart of Berlin.