Every evening, Kara Barnard read to her three sons.
For Kara, books were more than stories. Reading was how she nurtured curiosity, sparked imagination, and helped prepare her children for the future. An avid reader herself, she believed that every child deserved the opportunity to discover the joy that can be found within the pages of a good book.
When Kara passed away unexpectedly in 2015 at the age of 41, her husband, Mike, wanted her love of reading to continue making a difference in the lives of local children.
In 2016, Mike partnered with The Community’s Foundation (TCF) to create the The Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund (KBYL Fund)
“I just thought there would be no better way to honor her than to help other kids in this community. She loved this community.” – Mike Barnard
Keeping Kara’s Love of Reading Alive
With Mike’s vision and the support of TCF, KBYL Fund grew into an active literacy initiative serving children, families, schools, and community organizations throughout Delaware County. Behind the scenes, TCF provided the infrastructure, volunteer support, fundraising assistance, and community connections needed to help the effort grow and thrive.
Together, volunteers, donors, educators, and community partners helped build a literacy initiative that would eventually distribute tens of thousands of books throughout Delaware County.
A Book Drive That Changed Thousands of Lives
One of the fund’s most successful chapters began in 2017, when Kara and Mike’s son, Sam, chose youth literacy as his Eagle Scout project. His goal was simple: organize a community book drive and get books into the hands of local children. What was intended as a one-time service project quickly took on a life of its own.
As donations poured in, TCF helped transform the effort into an organized community library. Operating from the lower level of TCF’s headquarters, the growing library became a hub for collecting, sorting, storing, and distributing children’s books throughout Delaware County. TCF provided space, volunteer coordination, outreach support, communications tools, and the infrastructure needed to connect donated books with the organizations that needed them most.
Schools, daycare centers, camps, after-school programs, shelters, and nonprofits could request books at no cost. TCF staff and volunteers worked directly with educators and community organizations to match books to the children they served, ensuring that thousands of books found their way into classrooms, community programs, and family homes.
86,000+ books distributed throughout Delaware County
Celebrating the Joy of Reading
As KYBL grew, so did its approach to literacy.
Placing books in the hands of children was only part of the mission. The fund also focused on creating experiences that helped children see reading as something exciting, engaging, and fun.
One of the earliest initiatives was Reading Is Fun, a series of literacy-focused events that brought books and storytelling directly to local students. Over time, the program evolved into school-based activities where Ridley High School student-athletes visited elementary classrooms to read with younger children. Often dressed as beloved storybook characters, the students helped transform reading from a classroom assignment into a memorable experience.
The program continued to grow, reaching schools throughout the Ridley School District, including Woodlyn, Eddystone, Amosland, Grace Park, Lakeview, Edgewood, and Leedom Elementary Schools. Children not only participated in reading activities but also received books of their own to take home and enjoy with their families.
These events reinforced an important truth: literacy is built through more than access to books alone. It grows through encouragement, positive experiences, and meaningful connections with the people who help children discover the joy of reading.
Click Through to See Event Photo Gallery
Expanding Literacy from Birth
As the initiative matured, fund leaders began exploring ways to reach children even earlier in their literacy journey.
One opportunity emerged through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that mails free, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth through age five. Its focus on building literacy habits at home aligned closely with Kara’s belief in the importance of reading from an early age.
To learn how the program could work locally, TCF connected with Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (AHHAH) and the Justamere Foundation, which helped expand the Dolly Parton Imagination Library throughout Chester County. Those conversations provided valuable insight into enrollment, outreach, and long-term sustainability.
The result was TCF launching Delaware County’s first Dolly Parton Imagination Library serving children in Eddystone Borough. By 2025, an average of more than 100 children were receiving a free book in the mail each month through the program. TCF coordinated local partnerships and managed the initiative, while the KBYL Fund helped integrate the program into the foundation’s broader literacy efforts.
Turning the Page
Over the years, the Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund adapted to meet the changing needs of the community. Some programs expanded, others completed their purpose, and new opportunities emerged.
What started as a tribute to Kara’s love of reading grew into a wide range of literacy initiatives: classroom reading events, large-scale book distribution, partnerships with schools and nonprofits, and participation in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
As new opportunities emerged, the fund expanded its approach to literacy. Through every stage, TCF helped provide the support, infrastructure, and community connections needed to turn ideas into action and keep Kara’s mission moving forward.
Today, one of the most visible reminders of that mission sits outside TCF’s office: a Little Free Library where neighbors can take a book, leave a book, and share a love of reading with the community. In many ways, it captures the spirit of the fund itself—books meant to be shared, passed along, and placed into the hands of the next reader.
While the next chapter is still taking shape, the mission remains unchanged: helping children discover the confidence, curiosity, and joy that reading can inspire.
More than a decade later, Kara’s legacy lives on – not only in the books that were shared but in the readers they inspired.
A mother’s love of reading became a community movement.
Countless readers. Lasting impact. A legacy still being written.
Continue the Story
Want to learn more about this story? Explore related photos, videos, resources, and opportunities connected to the people, programs, and impact featured here.
- Hear more about the fund in this Fox29 feature from March 2025
- See photos of the fund in action here
- To support the Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund, click here
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