Interview by Drew Adams
Photos by Gloria Nguyen-Chambers, Gary Mlodzik, and Laura Haley
One of the not-so-secret ingredients to the success of Kids Need to Read and the work we do is our highly valued team of volunteers. In an effort to show our appreciation and reflect upon their importance, we have interviewed some of the people who help our organization grow, function, and succeed.
Today we are talking with Gary and Tina Mlodzik. Gary serves on the Kids Need to Read board of directors; his wife Tina is a regular volunteer. Both are highly visible and are currently working to promote the Grow Your Library program nationwide.
KNTR: Tell us a little about yourselves and how you became involved with Kids Need to Read (KNTR).
Tina: Gary and I were looking for an organization to support as volunteers. He had been introduced to KNTR through a work project at Cox Communications.
Gary: I had been looking for a charity to volunteer with, something Tina and I could do together. We both love to read so KNTR seemed like a potential fit. I made a call, introduced myself to [former Operations Director and current board member] Debbie Robinson, and she said my timing was perfect! Phoenix Comicon 2013 was coming up and they needed volunteers. Tina and I had heard of Comicon but had never attended. Comic conventions aren’t usually our thing, but we wanted to serve. We worked the KNTR booth and helped out with Steven Riley’s Build-a-Book presentation. We also worked the Geek Prom. We were warmly accepted and had a spectacular time! We asked how we could help further and pretty soon we were sorting books, doing inventory, and meeting more wonderful people.
Tina: This organization has been a perfect fit for both of us.
What is your favorite thing about working alongside KNTR?
Gary: I love the mission. I loved reading as a child and I believe reading is not currently given the priority it should. I feel I can support the cause and help spread KNTR’s name and mission through my network of friends, increasing the likelihood of impacting a child’s life through literacy.
Tina: I was a library assistant for thirteen years, so sorting boxes of donated books for the enjoyment of children is like Christmas to me. I enjoy finding appropriate age level/grade level books for the Grow Your Library program.
Could you tell us more about the Grow Your Library program? What is it and how did it develop?
Gary: After I was accepted onto the board of directors for KNTR in October of 2014, I felt the need to explore the resources available to me to help further the development of the organization. I initiated a “birthday challenge” as a fundraiser in December of 2014. Tina and I agreed to match twenty percent of all funds donated. The results were pretty decent, we were able to raise over $1,300. Cash is good, it was a start and I continued to explore things I could contribute. I have worked in the Phoenix area for almost thirty years and have made many friends and contacts. I started reaching out to people, asking questions about how to grow a young but passionate charity organization. Brian Colling, owner and founder of Colling Media in Scottsdale, Arizona, spent some phone time with me discussing the mission of KNTR. We discussed things KNTR could do to get more exposure while serving the community. Brian said, “You need some ‘Meet Jake’ moments.” Those words stuck with me.
What is a “Meet Jake” moment? Can you elaborate?
Gary: When we have “Meet Jake” moments, we’re able to put a face from the community in direct contact with KNTR. We want to put KNTR in a position of visibility within the community so the community can see exactly what we do and how we make a difference. KNTR primarily provides literacy resources so others can teach children, and Brian felt we needed to have some impact on the direct users of our resources as opposed to being the middle person. Steven Riley’s Build-a-Book presentations provide “Meet Jake” moments, for instance. But on a national level, KNTR was just shipping boxes of books to those that filled out the request on our website, which doesn’t give us as much publicity and exposure as the direct involvement Tina and I have with Grow Your Library. We want potential sponsors or donors to be able to Google “Kids Need to Read” and see newspaper articles from all over the country about the work KNTR is doing.
I recapped the conversation with KNTR [Executive Director] Denise Gary. When I mentioned the need for “Meet Jake” moments, Denise said, “I agree, we need more of this. It is a bit of a challenge for us as a provider of resources. We don’t have the manpower or the ability to commit to doing something like this regularly. But this is a definite area of need for us.” Brian’s words and Denise’s response stuck in my brain. I started brainstorming ideas for the Grow Your Library program and emailed Denise with my thoughts. I loved the idea of incorporating library visits when Tina and I travel to small towns and underserved areas.
Tina: KNTR donates books for the library, and Gary and I read a story to the children during their library’s story time. We talk about the book we read with them; we explain the program and that they, the children, can help their library grow.
Gary: Tina originally picked a book to read that a friend of ours had published and has a “make a difference” theme to it. It is called Starfish on the Beach, written and illustrated by Tom and Lindy Schneider. I developed the philanthropy portion of the program. When any of the kids who attend emails a designated email address within thirty days of the event with a book report or a picture of themselves with a book, Tina and I donate another book to the library on behalf of the reader with a bookplate inside the cover stating it was donated in honor of the child. It is their opportunity to make a difference. KNTR also offered a free copy of The Little Flame and a Highlights magazine to give to each child that attends the Grow Your Library events. We have fun together with the children, the library gets a generous donation of books, and the kids get literature keepsakes to take home. The kids also get an opportunity to make a lasting donation to their local library, which is hopefully the start to a lifelong habit of giving back.
KNTR has supported me wholeheartedly in this endeavor. Denise, [Operations Director] Lori Cothrun, [Creative Director] Robert Gary, and [Communications Director] Craig Kyzar took my crude drafts of artwork and copy ideas and turned them into amazing flyers, press releases, bookmarks, and bookplates. That support made it even more exciting to see a dream become reality. So far we’ve held events in Moab, Utah; Hibbing, Minnesota; Kewaskum, Wisconsin; and Huachuca City, Arizona. The program has been well received by kids, parents, friends, and the local librarians. Tina and I really feel honored to be the face of KNTR when holding these events. It is such a joy to share the blessings made possible by donors to KNTR.
In what ways have books played a part in your own lives?
Gary: I grew up in a small town. Books helped me to experience places and adventures I would never otherwise know in rural Wisconsin.
Tina: Books have been a big part of my life since attending a small elementary school in Kokomo, Indiana. When the book mobile—a portable library—would show up at my school and the teachers allowed me to be one of the first students to go in and wander around, I was inevitably the last to exit with an armful of borrowed books.
What is one of your favorite books? What are you reading right now?
Tina: There isn’t just one book I can choose. My favorite book depends on the genre. Biblical, for example, includes The Passion of Christ and Heaven is for Real. Historical fiction would be Girl in a Cage, fantasy Prom and Prejudice, and quite a few biographies: My Serge, Chosen by a Horse, Until I say Good-bye, Tomboy Bride. At the moment I’m reading Street Lawyer by John Grisham
Gary: I don’t have a favorite book per se, but the Reacher series by Lee Child is by far my must-read literature. I love mysteries and thrillers; John Grisham, William Bernhardt, Lee Child, John Lescroart, and Michael Connelly are my favorites. At this moment I am reading Gone Girl.
If you could tell someone one thing about the organization, what would it be?
Gary: The thing that impresses me most about KNTR is that you have volunteers and staff from a wide demographic background pulled together due to a shared interest in reading, and everyone exists humbly and works for the greater good. There are no pretensions of superiority based on advanced education or social status, just everyone working for the cause.
Tina: We have been treated with open arms and friendly smiles of gratitude from Denise and the other volunteers in response to our open willingness to be a part of KNTR’s volunteers.
Final thoughts or anything either of you would like to share?
Tina: The Grow Your Library program has been a wonderful adventure. The parents and children have told us how they enjoyed us coming and sharing our time with them. Also, it’s wonderful that the children are given a book to take home as a gift from KNTR. It’s an amazing feeling when a child asks if you will be there the next day to read to them. That’s when you know you’ve made a difference.
Gary: KNTR has been a wonderful fit for Tina and I, and we hope to contribute and serve for many years.
We would like to thank both Gary and Tina for taking a few minutes to talk with us about their work with KNTR! You can learn more about the Grow Your Library program here.
We are always in need of more volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering with Kids Need to Read, please write to info@kidsneedtoread.org for more information.
