In 2021 our son Zechariah was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 at 20 weeks in the womb. Trisomy 18 is a terminal diagnosis and we knew we wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. Did you know babies can hear your voice in your womb at 27 weeks gestation? We knew Zechariah could hear us as we read to our girls each night and talked to him. Then when he was born, he was placed on life support. Because of his fragile condition and sensitive nervous system, we could not touch him very often. So we read to him. For the three days of Zechariah’s life outside the womb, we took turns reading to him. This was one way we could bond with our son.

Because we believe that the Light of the World entered His creation, and that light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it, Zechariah’s legacy will be more than a tiny urn. We began the non-profit Reading to Z.

Reading to Z’s mission is to increase childhood literacy. One of the best ways to do that is by reading to kids.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income. After launching in 1995, the program grew quickly. First books were only distributed to children living in Sevier County, Tennessee where Dolly grew up. It became such a success that in 2000 a national replication effort was underway. By 2003, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed one million books. It would prove to be the first of many millions of books sent to children around the world. Dolly’s home state of Tennessee pledged to pursue statewide coverage in 2004 and global expansion was on the horizon. After the United States, the program launched in Canada in 2006 followed by the United Kingdom in 2007, Australia in 2013 and the Republic of Ireland in 2019. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library groups can be found all over the world and depend on local nonprofit groups providing the funds to cover the program in their zip code.

Reading to Z is one of those local nonprofit groups for our community of Boulder City. We are an official affilliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

As part of Zechariah’s legacy, we would like every child, from birth to age five, in Boulder City to receive a book every month. We got 3 wonderful days to read to our son. We hope to foster a lifetime of wonderful reading for the kids in our community.

We believe that reading to your kids will change the world. A love for reading takes you on an adventure to discover the good, the true, and the beautiful. We help to foster childhood literacy and create memories that build families and our community.

The average retail cost of Imagination Library titles is about $13 per book. However, by purchasing in volume, the Imagination Library is able to acquire and mail customized titles for about $2.10 per child per month.

That’s about $25/year and $125 for a child to receive a book every month from birth to age 5.

The first year's cost of $5,000 for Imagination Library will be paid by Adam and I with memorial money from Zechariah’s funeral. The plan after that will be to fundraise in order to cover the ongoing yearly costs. The big dream is to have an endowment that covers the expenses in perpetuity.