South Sound Reading Foundation

05/30/2026

What a night! 📚✨ We had an absolute blast co-hosting the Thurston County Chamber Business After Hours event last week alongside the incredible team at Alliance!

It was wonderful connecting with so many local business leaders, sharing our passion for literacy, and seeing everyone unleash their inner child with our mascot, Booker T. Bear! 🐻📖 (Swipe to see Booker stealing the spotlight!)

A huge thank you to everyone who came out, networked, and enjoyed the fantastic spread of fancy "mocktails" and delicious food from Together, we’re building a brighter, more literate community.

📸 Check out some of our favorite moments from the night!

05/29/2026

🐻 BIG NEWS, SOUTH SOUND! 🐻

Look who got a glow-up! ✨ We are absolutely thrilled to introduce the new and improved Booker T. Bear!

Same iconic name, but with a brand-new, updated look that is (if we do say so ourselves) waaay cuter!

Wondering what that "T" stands for? It’s a daily reminder of our favorite rule: Read for Twenty minutes a day! 📚⌚

We debuted the new look last week when we hosted the Thurston County Chamber Business After Hours, and safe to say, Booker stole the show. Check out those moves in the video below! 👇🕺

❤️ A Huge Thank You!
This magic is brought to life here by the amazing Beth Schilling - thank you for always being our ultimate go-to mascot person and bringing Booker to life with so much joy and energy. We appreciate you more than words can say!

Keep an eye out for Booker at upcoming community events—he can't wait to give out some high-fives and share the love of reading.

05/28/2026

🚚 Up, Up, and Almost There! 🏔️
Our "Little Engine That Could" is climbing the hill, and the peak is officially in sight!

Thanks to our amazing community, we have raised an incredible $59,200 toward our new Book Van! 🙌 We are so close to our $70,000 finish line, but we need your help to power over the crest.

Every single dollar fuels this van, allowing us to deliver the joy of reading, free books, and literacy support to children across the South Sound. Let’s get this van to the top of the mountain! 📚✨

How you can help us cross the finish line:

💟 Donate: Every bit helps us reach the top! https://southsoundreading.app.neoncrm.com/forms/book-van-campaoign

🔄 Share: Spread the word to friends, family, and fellow book lovers.

Let’s keep the wheels turning! 🚐💨

05/22/2026

We had SO much fun hosting the Thurston County Chamber Business After Hours yesterday at our new office! Thank you to everyone who joined us for the festivities, and thank you to SCJ Alliance for co-hosting with us! What a wonderful community of engaged folks and organizations we have here in the South Sound. We also got to introduce our newly updated Mascot, Booker T. Bear! Isn't he adorable? 😍 Christy Anton Peters

05/21/2026

✨ Tonight’s the night! ✨

We are thrilled to be hosting this evening’s Thurston County Chamber After Hours event, and our team cannot wait to welcome you all to the South Sound Reading Foundation, in our new home at the RMAC! 📚🍸

Whether you're a long-time supporter or looking to connect with us for the first time, tonight is the perfect opportunity to mix, mingle, and network with fellow local professionals while learning more about our mission to bring the joy of reading to every child in our community.

We’ve got great conversations, delicious refreshments, and plenty of bookish inspiration lined up for you. Come see our space, meet the team, and find out how we can work together to rewrite the future for local youth—one book at a time.

🕒 Event Details:
When: Tonight! 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: 200 Sleater-Kinney Road NE, North Thurston RMAC South
What to bring: Your business cards and your passion for community!

A huge thank you to SCJ Alliance for partnering with us to host this event. Let’s network for a cause! See you soon! 👋

Can't join us but would like to make a donation to help fill our new book van with literary treasure for South Sound kids? Follow this link! 👉https://southsoundreading.app.neoncrm.com/forms/2026-general-donations-1

05/13/2026

🚐 Help Our Book Van Reach the Stars! ✨
We’ve been through a bit of a bumpy road lately, but the view from the top is looking better than ever!

As many of you saw in the news, our beloved Book Van—which has delivered books to kids across the South Sound for nearly 20 years—was unfortunately taken out of service due to vandalism. But if there’s one thing we know about this community, it’s that you believe in the power of literacy as much as we do!

We are on a mission to get a brand-new, customized van back on the road. This isn't just a vehicle; it’s a mobile library that brings the magic of reading directly to schools, food banks, neighborhoods and summer programs where it's needed most.

📈 Our Progress
Look at that little van go! 🚐💨

Current Total: $50,555

Our Goal: $70,000

We are 3/4 of the way up the hill, and we need your help for that final stretch! Every dollar donated brings us closer to the stars at the top and ensures that no child in our community goes without a book to call their own.

How you can help:

Donate: Click the link below to contribute to the Book Van Campaign.

Share: Spread the word! Tell your friends, family, and neighbors why literacy matters.

Let’s get those wheels turning and reach the stars for the next generation of readers! 🌟📚

👉https://southsoundreading.app.neoncrm.com/forms/book-van-campaoign

05/12/2026

✨ Shining Bright in the South Sound! ✨
We are bursting with pride to share some incredible news! This May, our very own Leslie Panowicz was honored with an Exceptional Women Award at the South Sound Exceptional Women Awards banquet hosted by Soroptimist International of Olympia! 🏆

As the third-generation owner of , Leslie doesn't just run a business; she carries forward a legacy of integrity, craftsmanship and community service that her grandfather started right here in Olympia back in 1948.

While many of you know Leslie as a Registered Jeweler (RJ) who travels all the way to Antwerp to hand-select the perfect diamonds, her impact goes far beyond the jewelry case. Before returning to the family business, Leslie spent a decade as a social worker—a heart for service that still shines through in everything she does today.

Under her leadership, Panowicz Jewelers:

Empowers our community: Helping local charities raise tens of thousands of dollars every year.

Celebrates your most precious milestones: From custom heirloom redesigns to finding that perfect "yes" ring.

Upholds Excellence: Maintaining the highest ethical standards in the industry.

For Leslie, jewelry is about more than gold and gemstones; it’s about honoring love and preserving the cherished memories of the families in the South Sound.

Please join us in Congratulating Leslie on this well-deserved recognition! 🏆💚

05/08/2026

Our "Book Fairy" has struck again! 🧚📚

We just received a beautiful delivery of 262 brand-new, colorful bilingual board books, thanks to a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous. This Book Fairy knows that the magic of reading starts from day one, and providing books in a child’s home language is one of the best ways to spark a lifelong love of stories.

These sturdy, vibrant pages are headed straight into the hands of our community’s youngest readers through our upcoming distributions.

To our anonymous friend: thank you for believing in our mission and for being the wind beneath our wings! You are proof that you don't need a name to make a massive impact. 💖

Want to join the magic? You don’t need a wand—just a passion for literacy! Every donation helps us keep our shelves stocked for South Sound families. 📚💫💜

👉https://southsoundreading.app.neoncrm.com/forms/2026-general-donations-1

05/05/2026

📚 TODAY IS GIVEBIG! Help us write the next chapter. 📚

It’s the biggest giving day of the year, and at the South Sound Reading Foundation, we have a massive milestone to celebrate—and a big challenge to overcome.

As we celebrate 25 years of promoting literacy in our community, we are thrilled to announce that this spring we gave away our 1,000,000th book! That is one million moments of magic, learning, and family bonding across the South Sound.

Why your gift matters TODAY:
While we are celebrating 25 years of impact, our mission faced a setback. As reported by KING 5 and The Olympian, our beloved bookmobile was recently vandalized and is no longer in service. Currently, our small but mighty team is using personal vehicles to ensure over 1,100 children each week still receive books and literacy support.

We need your help to get a new Reading Van back on the road by summer!

How you can help:
Your donation today through GiveBIG directly supports our mission to ensure every child is read with for 20 minutes a day. Whether it’s $20 or $200, your contribution helps us:

🚚 Fund a new mobile book van to reach kids at schools, programs, and housing communities.

📖 Provide free, high-quality books to children who need them most.

🌟 Support literacy programs that build healthy brains and successful futures.

✨ DONATE NOW: https://www.wagives.org/organization/southsoundreading

Let’s ensure every child in the South Sound has the tools they need to read and succeed. GiveBIG for literacy today!

MissionWe help families enjoy reading together every day, so all children reach their full potential.Reading is the most fundamental skill a child needs to succeed in school and in life. It's our mission to bring the joy and promise of books and reading to all South Sound...

05/01/2026

📚 Big News from the Bookshelf! 📚
A massive THANK YOU to our amazing partners at SCJ Alliance! Just look at this gorgeous spread of books they’ve collected so far. 😍 These stories are going to make a world of difference for youth across the Puget Sound as we work together to build a more literate community.

We are so grateful for ’s partnership and their heart for our mission. The best part? Their book drive is still going strong!

If you see the collection bins at their office, know that every donation is helping the South Sound Reading Foundation put books into the hands of children who need them most.

Thank you, SCJ Alliance, for helping us spread the joy of reading! 📖✨
Interested in hearing more about SCJ Alliance and what they do? Follow this link to learn!
👉https://www.scjalliance.com/

04/30/2026

We're on KING 5 News! Our Book Van campaign has hit the road - and we're over half-way to our goal with $36,500 raised so far! 🙌 Thank you KING 5 and Drew Mikkelsen for shining the spotlight on our mission! 📚💙 We are so close - Can our community help us close the gap? Follow this link (or visit us at southsoundreading.org) to help us get the Book Van on the road and continue our mission of bringing the joy and promise to all South Sound kids! 📚👉https://southsoundreading.app.neoncrm.com/forms/book-van-campaoign