Enduring Impact of LT'90 Community Project
Enduring Impact of LT Community Service Projects: Page Ahead Delivers Four Millionth Book
For 40 years, Leadership Tomorrow has worked at the forefront of civic engagement to cultivate a network of inclusive, courageous, and curious leaders across Puget Sound. As we celebrate this special milestone, we are proud to highlight stories from LT alumni who continue to shape our region into a vibrant, vital community where all can thrive.
Since LT’s inception, Community Service projects have been an important aspect of the Flagship Program. Each year, the class divides into smaller groups (Lab Teams) and works with community organizations on projects to help address community needs.
In the past four decades, LT has partnered with 200+ nonprofit and public organizations, providing services like strategic planning, evaluation, market outreach, policy development, and much more. These projects can have a long-lasting impact for nonprofits and the communities they serve. Additionally, many class members stay engaged with the organization for years after their projects, continuing to serve as volunteers, donors, or board members.
The story below, written by Dave Osmer, LT’90, demonstrates the enduring impact of LT Community Service Projects.
Page Ahead Delivers Four Millionth Book in Support of Children’s Literacy!
By Dave Osmer, LT’90
When I participated in LT in 1989-90, lab teams were not required to partner with a nonprofit organization. Instead we chose an issue we cared about and devised a project that might address that issue. One of my lab teammates, Barbara Clark, was concerned about the lack of programs in our region dedicated to supporting children’s literacy.
Our team (Barbara Clark, Wally Gomez, Tom Marx, Dave Osmer, Carol Schlosnagle and Rick White) decided to do something about it. We created Books for Kids to fill this gap, providing free new books to children, pre-school through elementary school.
It was a community effort and many Seattle-area businesses and organizations pitched in to get this idea off the ground. The Boeing Company and Seafirst Bank funded the program. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer donated free advertising and a small office space, as well as accepted monetary donations to purchase books through Scholastic Publishers. Bookstores provided collection spots and lists of needed books for their customers. The Perkins Coie law firm provided pro-bono support in creating the organization’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The Seattle Public Library offered expertise on age-appropriate books and volunteers to sort donated books. Boeing employees organized book drives and volunteered.
With a budget of less than $32,000 and an intern to run the daily operations, Books for Kids began its first year in 1990. In that first year, Books for Kids distributed 5,679 books.
The response from teachers, families, and kids was overwhelmingly positive, and our team realized that this project needed to become a permanent program. It took us three years to turn the program over to a fully functioning nonprofit board and the organization is thriving today. Keltie Wright, LT’99 served as the organization’s first Executive Director, and Sam Whiting, LT’03, served as its second Executive Director. In 2001, the name was changed to Page Ahead, signifying the organization’s transition to a comprehensive literacy program, now serving communities in 18 counties.
Fast forward to 2022 and under the leadership of current Executive Director, Susan Dibble, Page Ahead’s flagship program has become “Book Up Summer,” designed to mitigate the “summer slide,” the reduction in reading levels that young students experience during the summer. Participating elementary schools hold Book Fairs in the spring during which students select 12 books. These books are given out at the end of the school year for the students to keep.
Page Ahead’s research has proven that this approach has not only reduced the effects of summer slide, but in some cases has reversed it, creating an actual improvement in reading levels over the summer. This past June, Page Ahead delivered its Four Millionth book in a celebration at Seattle’s Concord International Elementary School. The program has now served more than 950,000 children through collaborations with schools, social service agencies, preschools, and early childhood programs across Washington State.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally posted in July 2022. It has been updated in celebration of LT’s 40th anniversary.
