Our Impact
The Reading Revolution is Already Happening
12,456
Families
Served
20,072
Children
Reached
448,416
Books Placed in Homes
7
Communities Participating
Across homes, classrooms, healthcare systems, and communities, children are building stronger reading foundations before kindergarten through simple, joyful literacy experiences.
At imagineOne, we believe prevention is powerful. We start early, support families, equip educators, and help communities work together so children can enter school confident, connected, and ready to learn.
This is more than literacy support.
It’s community transformation.
Prevention Changes Outcomes
Most literacy efforts begin after children fall behind.
imagineOne starts earlier, during the critical birth-to-five years when children’s brains are developing rapidly and foundational language and literacy skills are forming.
Children receive My First Steps to Reading® to build home libraries while families receive ongoing guidance through the Early Literacy Learning Portal with videos, literacy activities, and multilingual support.
Together, books, providers, families, and communities create a connected literacy ecosystem that supports children long before kindergarten begins.
This is Bigger Than Literacy
For many children, imagineOne provides the first books they’ve ever owned.
When children own their books and enter school reading ready:
• classrooms become stronger
• communities become healthier
• confidence grows
• families feel empowered
The Reading Ready Revolution is moving communities from remediation to prevention, from isolation to connection, and from literacy crisis to literacy readiness.
Together, we can prevent reading failure before it begins.
FEATURED IMPACT STORIES
Communities Across
the Country Are Leading the Revolution
FEATURED IMPACT STORIES
Communities Across
the Country Are Leading
the Revolution
BUTLER COUNTY HEAD START READING READY
Program: My First Steps to Reading
Families and educators are working together to build early literacy skills before school ever begins. At Early Learning Connections Head Start, teachers like Arlene Roth have used the My First Steps to Reading® toolkit for over 20 years, and they’re seeing measurable results.
A Week in Arlene’s Classroom:
Letter introduction with picture cards, songs, and My First Steps to Reading® books.
Vocabulary building through student-led word associations.
Phonics and letter recognition with visual and verbal reinforcement.
Hands-on letter writing and small-group skill reinforcement.
Home Connections:
Families receive the My First Steps to Reading® toolkit to keep and use at home.
Teachers share book titles and songs with families through weekly newsletters.
Families sing, talk, and read together using familiar routines.
The Results:
“I see so much growth in the kiddos with letter recognition, writing, and even letter sounds!” said Arlene Roth, Head Start Teacher.
This is a model that bridges classroom and home learning with simple, joyful, proven tools.
DESERT SANDS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT READING READY
In Riverside County California, Desert Sands Unified School District’s Transitional Kindergarten classrooms, teachers use My First Steps to Reading® to introduce a new letter each week. Read-alouds, songs, and hands-on practice build alphabet knowledge and early phonemic awareness.
Every participating family takes home their own toolkit, with books, songs, and guidance that make parents their child's first reading teacher.
The result: Children are entering kindergarten with stronger letter recognition, sound awareness, and reading confidence.
MANKATO READING READY
Our flagship model in Mankato Minnesota meets families where they are: at pediatric visits, at school, at the library, and at home.
Key partners:
Mankato Area Rotary — building community awareness of illitercy crisis, supporting education and programing, and fundraising for local literacy work.
Mankato Clinic — educating families about importance of early literacy and providing tools at well-child visits
Mankato Area Public Schools — receiving phonics-aligned book series, and resources to support families with preschool-age children
Blue Earth County Library — hosting booknooks including books, interactive games, and reading-ready resources for children and parents
Every family in our reading ready community receives the 26-book set of My First Steps to Reading® toolkit, plus training and access to events that turn everyday moments into learning.
"Before imagineOne, I didn't know how much the little things mattered, like talking, singing, and playing with my toddler. Now I feel like I'm doing something that will actually help her be ready for school." —Mankato parent
This is what it looks like when an entire town wraps its arms around early literacy.
BETHANY LITERACY CLINIC
imagineOne focuses on prevention, but some children need help now. That's why we help fund the Bethany Literacy Clinic at Bethany Lutheran College. Struggling readers get structured literacy instruction rooted in the science of reading and see measurable gains in fluency and comprehension.
Raising Readers. Empowering Families. Engaging Communities.
One child. One family. One community at a time.