Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund
Continuing Kara’s love of reading by supporting literacy and educational opportunity in our community
About
The Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund supports literacy and educational opportunities that help children develop the confidence, curiosity, and joy that reading can inspire.
The fund was established in 2016 by Kara’s husband, Mike Barnard, in partnership with The Community’s Foundation following Kara’s unexpected death in 2015 at age 41.
An avid reader, Kara read to her three sons every evening and believed every child should have the opportunity to discover the joy of reading. The fund carries that belief forward by supporting programs and opportunities that promote literacy among children and strengthen the educators who help them become readers.
History
What began as a way to honor Kara’s love of reading grew into a community-wide literacy initiative serving children, families, schools, and community organizations throughout Delaware County. In 2017, Kara and Mike’s son, Sam, chose youth literacy for his Eagle Scout project and organized a community book drive. The response was so strong that it evolved into a community library at The Community’s Foundation, distributing books and supporting literacy programs across the region.
For more on the fund’s story and impact, see Stories of Impact.
Today, the fund is continuing its evolution through a new focus: a scholarship supporting reading specialists.
Programs
Reading Specialist Scholarship
The Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund now supports a scholarship for educators pursuing specialized training as reading specialists.
Reading specialists play an important role in helping children develop strong literacy skills. By supporting educators pursuing this specialized training, the fund invests in the people who help children become confident, capable readers.
Coming this Fall
Reading Is Fun
The fund supported Reading Is Fun, a literacy initiative designed to help children experience reading as engaging, enjoyable, and worth sharing.
The program included school visits where Ridley High School student-athletes read with elementary students, sometimes dressed as beloved storybook characters. Children also received books of their own to take home and enjoy with their families.
Little Free Library
A Little Free Library outside The Community’s Foundation provides an ongoing, visible reminder of the fund’s mission.
Neighbors can take a book, leave a book, and share the joy of reading with others in the community.
Impact
Through the Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund’s community book distribution effort, more than 86,000 books were collected and distributed throughout Delaware County.
Books were made available at no cost to schools, daycare centers, camps, after-school programs, shelters, nonprofits, and other community organizations, helping put books directly into the hands of children and families.
Expanding Literacy from Birth
The fund also helped bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) to Delaware County.
DPIL provides free, age-appropriate books by mail to children from birth through age five. TCF launched Delaware County’s first Imagination Library program in Eddystone Borough, and by 2025, an average of more than 100 children were receiving a free book each month.
The Imagination Library grew from the Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund’s broader commitment to early childhood literacy. As the program continues to expand, it is now becoming a separate initiative from the KBYL Fund, allowing it to develop its own dedicated focus and support.
The impact of the Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund lives on through the books shared, the children reached, and the educators supported.
Support
Your support helps the Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund continue its mission of strengthening literacy and educational opportunity in our community. By supporting the fund, you help invest in educators and initiatives that can make a lasting difference in the lives of children and readers.
The Kara Barnard Youth Literacy Fund
A mother’s love of reading became a community movement.
Countless readers. Lasting impact. A legacy still being written.