April 2026

The First Word

National Volunteer Week is April 19 to 25 and we want to make sure all of you who volunteer to help us fulfill our mission know how much we appreciate you. We’re so grateful to our Power Read lead volunteers, mentors, ambassadors, and board members, as well as those who serve on our committees, help in the office, and assist with our special events. Your time, service, leadership, and dedication mean we can continue to build reading skills and confidence in our students every year. A huge thank you to all of you! 

Karen Ligas, executive director

Des Moines Book Festival

The Des Moines Book Festival is back at the Franklin Event Center on Saturday, May 2. EWI will be on hand with games, activities, and children’s books from 11 am to 4 pm in the children’s literacy area. The Franklin Event Center is located at 4801 Franklin Ave. in Des Moines. We’re looking forward to seeing you and your little ones!

Additional Events

Be sure to check our Events page for even more events this spring. EWI will have a presence in many of our communities, and we need ambassadors to staff our tables and help provide information and books for kids to take home. Please let Stacy know if you would like more information.

Let's Get Social

Please join us from 4 to 6 pm on Monday, May 4, at Lua Brewing for an EWI Volunteer Social. This is a great chance for our mentors, volunteers, and board and committee members to mingle and celebrate the end of another year of Power Read. Drop in and stay as long as you’d like. Though there will not be a formal program, we will have some special prizes. Lua Brewing is located at 1525 High St. in Des Moines. You can check out their popular food and drink menus here. We can’t wait to see you! 

FAQs with Stacy

Welcome to my new Bookworm column. I’ve been with EWI for eight years and know what makes Power Read rewarding for both mentors and students. Each month I’ll choose a topic or question to help broaden our understanding of what makes mentoring and reading with kids so important. This month’s question is relevant as Power Read winds down:

“What should I do when my older student no longer seems interested in Power Read?” 

Stacy Pearce, operations manager

If you’re reading with a student who has grown disinterested, allowing those feelings is essential. Let your student know how much time is left. You can use a countdown to put the remaining time in perspective. But if they really are no longer enjoying Power Read, then the best thing to do is let them go. Be sure to discuss this with your Power Read lead volunteer and then tell your student how glad you are to have been able to spend time with them and encourage them to read any time they can. Make sure you show you are proud of what they have accomplished, even if you don’t agree with the outcome. Send them off with a note thanking them for reading with you. Someday, your student may sit down with their own mentee and share a story about how an adult spent time with them a long time ago. And even though we may never know, having faith in the process can go a long way.

If you’re looking for additional resources, visit our Resources portal. For this column, I consulted “The Mentor’s Field Guide” by Manza and Patrick. 

Reading Room

Have you read a good book lately? If you’d like to share your recommendations, you can do that here. This month we’re featuring books that our staff members recommend:

Karen Ligas: “The Lions of Fifth Avenue” by Fiona Davis. Karen says, “This is a tale of fiction spanning a multi-generational family who lived inside the New York Public Library. The apartment featured in the book was true, but this story is pure fiction and was an easy and enjoyable read over a rainy weekend!”

Stacy Pearce: “Traversal” by Maria Popova. Stacy says, “Popova is a science writer whose works include poetry, essays, and even children's books. ‘Traversal’ is part biography (Mary Shelley, Walt Whitman, and Frederick Douglas), and lots of gorgeous prose that connects the facts of science with humanity's search for truth.”

Super Sponsors

The cost to support a Power Read student is $45 monthly or $500 annually. Please click here to donate. We are always grateful for the support of all our program sponsors.

$100 to $999

Lindsay Dea

Rachel Hadaway

Karen Johnson, in memory of Rose Mettler

Marsha Kephart

Collin Miller

Megan Winter

Young Professionals of Des Moines

Make a Difference

Power Read is offered at no cost to our students and their families and schools and is funded entirely through grants and donations. Please visit more ways to give to learn about the many ways you can support Power Read. Here is our progress through March 2026:


By the Book

Everybody Wins! Iowa is a central Iowa non-profit organization whose mission is to increase children’s success in school and life through one-to-one reading and mentoring experiences with caring volunteers. Our signature program is Power Read, in which students read with the same volunteer mentor each week. Here’s a look at our current data through February; for a few more details click here and scroll down the page for additional data on our Program Impact.


Student attendance
93%

Total volunteer hours

3,481

Total books distributed
1,939