Promoting early reading and literacy among youth and families in the community is the goal of JOY of Reading—a nonprofit community initiative of the Emily Joy Averill Foundation, and in partnership with the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Fort Dodge. JOY of Reading is an alliance of individuals, businesses, schools, libraries and other organizations who have joined forces to create a culture of reading in our community by encouraging our youth to become good, avid readers and learn to love to read.
The mission of JOY of Reading is to motivate young children to read by working with them, their parents and community members to make reading a joyful and fun experience and a beneficial part of everyday life. By using the networks already in place in our community, JOY of Reading connects youth and their parents with resources that foster an improved reading ability and appreciation of reading.