Unlocking New Opportunities: Madison Reading Project expanding literacy services to Sauk County children

Madison, WI – Madison Reading Project is thrilled to announce it is expanding its service area to include Sauk County, starting with its early literacy services for young children. We believe every child deserves the chance to fall in love with reading. 

Since our pilot program began in 2014 at the Salvation Army Neighborhood Center, we have fostered curiosity, listening, trust, and collaboration to enhance access to resources. We’ve significantly expanded our services, reaching children from birth to 18 through our work, and launched various literacy programs to bring books and engaging events directly to communities. The impact of 12 years has been significant to the county, in the volume and quality of resources, the longevity of programs and relationships, and the willingness to be innovative to enhance book accessibility and book joy for all children, families, and educators. 

We will start with the youngest readers and introduce Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for Sauk County families later this week, providing invaluable resources to support young readers. Thanks to the generous support of the Roots & Wings Foundation, our expansion will focus on early literacy services that build the foundational skills kids need before kindergarten.

Our small but mighty team is devoted to staying curious, being in the community, and making an impactful difference. This expansion marks an exciting new chapter, and we invite you to stay tuned as we share plans and ways you can get involved. Together, we can ensure that all children, families, and educators across our region have access to quality literacy materials and books to read, dream, and succeed.Beginning March 19, parents and caregivers can easily enroll their child(ren), birth to age 5,  in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to receive, at no charge, a carefully selected free book by mail every month that corresponds with the child’s age. Enrollment is at www.MadisonReadingProject.com/imaginationlibrary 

“We’ve been administering Imagination Library in Dane County since 2021, and thanks to the generous support of Roots & Wings Foundation, we’re now able to widen our reach,” says Rowan Childs, Madison Reading Project Co-Executive Director/Founder. “More than 13,500 children in Dane County receive this amazing gift in the mail every month and jumpstart literacy in their home. When families sign up their newborn, by the time their child turns five, the family will have received 60 books through the mail, helping build their home library, which not only enhances literacy skills, but also provides important opportunities for parent-child bonding.”

“About 3,500 children throughout Sauk County could be enrolled,” adds Deirdre Steinmetz, Co-Executive Director. “We are elated to grow this program to serve rural communities and bring the excitement of early literacy resources to more kids.” 

Each child is welcomed to the Imagination Library with The Little Engine that Could, and at age five, “graduates” with Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come. Books mailed in between those are based on their birth year, starting with board books and moving through more complex learning stages.

“We’re eager to make an impact in learning in Sauk County by putting more books into the hands of young children,” adds Sarah Burke, Madison Reading Project’s Early Literacy Coordinator. “More books in homes means more family bonding time and more opportunities to experience the joy of reading together.”

“We are overjoyed to be joining the Sauk County community and look forward to learning and growing alongside local children, families, and educators to inspire the next generation of lifelong readers,” Childs adds.

Questions about the Dolly Parton Imagination Program? Email: imaginationlibrary@madisonreadingproject.com

Facts to know:

• Children can be enrolled on the day they are born
• Children can be enrolled at one location- if that household is the address of a grandparent, friend, or relative, their name needs to be used as the parent to ensure delivery.
• Every child under 5 in a household can be enrolled. Duplicate titles may occur
• Madison Reading Project has funding from Roots & Wings Foundation to continue this program for five years.
• Dolly Parton Imagination Library works with local nonprofits to provide books to children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. Over 300 million books have been gifted since the program’s inception in 1995.

Maydm is searching for its next CEO

Maydm Executive Director, Dr. Christina Outlay has announced her plan to leave the organization after 4 years, and the local non-profit is seeking a mission-driven leader with experience in fundraising, community engagement and nonprofit leadership.

Maydm provides girls and youth of color in grades 6-12 with the skills, experiences, and connections to pursue careers in and change the face of STEM. Since 2015, they have grown their educational programs, along with a paid high school STEM internship program that is now in its fifth year. Through year-round educational and experiential programs, Maydm serves as a hub connecting students, schools, businesses, and community organizations to create pathways into STEM learning and careers. Within this supportive ecosystem, students build skills, confidence, mentorship, and professional networks that expand opportunity, close equity gaps, and help develop a diverse, inclusive workforce for the future.

Maydm is entering an exciting new chapter of growth and impact. As the organization looks to the future, the Chief Executive Officer will have the opportunity to build on a strong foundation of programs, partnerships, and community trust to expand pathways for youth in STEM.

You can learn more about the opportunity at: https://www.maydm.org/job-openings/maydm-chief-executive-officer.

Applications are being accepted through April 3.

The Diamond Center seeking individuals to grow with Sales Team

The Diamond Center is searching for the right individual to join our team!  We are currently accepting applications for the position of Diamond Consultant with our Sales Team at our Madison, WI location.  

If you have amazing communication skills and enjoy working with people, you may be just who we are looking for. The ideal individual is someone who is punctual, detail oriented, and eager to learn about our products, our company, and our people. Our team is looking for someone with ambition and the determination to succeed. Someone who is passionate about building loyalty with each customer, who will provide excellent customer service, and is able to make educated decisions in a fast-paced environment.  Join us!

For more information, visit https://www.thediamondcenter.com/about-us/careers

Email your application and/or resume to:  jobs@thediamondcenter.com

As financial stress peaks, Dupaco delivers millions of personalized money insights 

DUBUQUE, Iowa — As Americans enter 2026 with some of the highest levels of financial stress in recent years, Dupaco Credit Union continues expanding digital tools that help people take control of their financial lives. Since launching Bright Track Financial Wellness Hub in 2025, the financial cooperative has delivered millions of proactive, personalized insights that help members reduce stress, build savings and strengthen day-to-day financial confidence.  

Polling from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) shows a deeply strained financial landscape. According to NEFE (https://www.nefe.org/news/2026/01/poll-americans-feeling-stressed-to-begin-2026.aspx), 88% of U.S. adults report feeling some level of financial stress entering 2026, one of the highest levels recorded in the organization’s decade of tracking financial well‑being. Additionally, 77% of Americans experienced a financial setback in 2025, including unexpected expenses, falling behind on bills and income disruptions. 

As financial pressure is mounting, consumers are seeking tools that help forecast expenses, manage cash flow, strengthen emergency savings and empower confident daily financial decisions. Dupaco’s no-cost Bright Track Financial Wellness Hub offer that support. 

Bright Track evolved significantly in 2025, becoming a comprehensive money management tool, helping members understand their spending and saving habits through real‑time insights, personalized alerts and actionable recommendations designed to reduce stress and improve financial well‑being. 

To date, Bright Track has delivered 13.3 million+ personalized insights to help members manage their money. These insights include notifications about upcoming bills, unexpected deposits or expenses, duplicate subscriptions and changes in automatic payments — helping members stay ahead of potential issues. 

“With financial stress at historic highs, consumers need both smart tools and people they can turn to for help,” says Kevin Lex, Digital Banking Product Manager at Dupaco. “Bright Track gives members real-time insights that reduce financial surprises. And, when they want deeper guidance, our Dupaco experts are here with 1:1 support. Together, our digital resources and our employees help members feel more confident and in control of their money.” 

Learn more about Dupaco’s tools to support financial well-being at Dupaco.com/bright-track.  

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About Dupaco Community Credit Union 

Dupaco Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa. It is dedicated to the financial well-being of its members, and specializes in personalized financial counseling, money advice and education. It offers savings, loans, investments, insurance and wealth management products for individuals and businesses. Dupaco serves residents in 118 counties throughout Iowa, northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 1948 by ten Dubuque Packing Company employees, membership has grown to more than 180,000 with assets exceeding $3.6 billion. It has over 600 employees and 23 branch office locations.  Learn more at www.dupaco.com. 

Mad for Reading Marks One Year of Building Literacy and Community Across MMSD

MADISON, Wis.—The Madison Metropolitan School District’s Mad for Reading initiative has entered its second year with growing student participation and expanded community partnerships aimed at strengthening literacy across the district.

Since launching last school year, 3,344 students have logged more than 10,000 books and more than 808,000 minutes of reading through the program. The initiative is designed to help students build stronger reading habits while creating new opportunities for families, educators and community partners to engage with books together.

Mad for Reading encourages students to find books that excite them, track their reading and build community by participating in school and districtwide challenges. This year, MMSD introduced a new reading-tracking app powered by Beanstack, allowing students and families to log reading minutes, earn digital badges and celebrate milestones as part of a districtwide goal of reaching 2.6 million minutes read by the end of the school year.

Participation is increasing across all grade levels.

• Among elementary schools, Schenk Elementary School currently leads with more than 140,000 minutes logged. John F. Kennedy Elementary School has the highest participation rate, with nearly 90 percent of students actively recording their reading, followed closely by Henry David Thoreau and Lapham elementary schools.
• At the middle school level, Ezekiel Gillespie Middle School leads with more than 54,000 minutes logged and about 58 percent student participation, with Georgia O’Keeffe and Black Hawk middle schools close behind.
• East High School currently leads district high schools with more than 16,000 minutes logged.

“This past year has shown what’s possible when a community comes together around literacy,” said Dr. Joe Gothard, superintendent of MMSD. “Mad for Reading is helping students discover the joy of reading while building critical skills that support their success in school and beyond.”

Community partnerships have also supported the program’s growth. Organizations including the Madison Public Library, Madison Reading Project and Wisconsin Book Festival have helped expand access to books and literacy programming for students and families, while the UW Badgers, Forward Madison FC and Athletes Unlimited have helped bring literacy into new spaces by pairing reading with athletics and community events.

“Seeing reading celebrated across schools and the broader community helps strengthen students’ confidence and motivation as readers,” said Maegan Heindel, MMSD’s library services coordinator. “Our libraries, classrooms and community partners are all working together to help students discover books that spark their curiosity.”

Mad for Reading also includes a variety of school and districtwide activities designed to promote literacy engagement, including the annual Book Bowl, Copa de Libros, Read Your Heart Out and family literacy nights.

The initiative reflects MMSD’s ongoing focus on ensuring every student develops strong literacy skills and a lifelong interest in reading.

More information about Mad for Reading is available on the MMSD website.

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About the Madison Metropolitan School District

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is the second-largest school district in Wisconsin, serving more than 25,000 students across 52 schools. The district’s vision is that every school will be a thriving school that prepares every student to graduate ready for college, career and community. With more than 6,000 teachers and staff, MMSD is committed to ensuring the district’s goals and core values are held at the center of its efforts, so students can learn, belong and thrive. For more information, visit mmsd.org.