A brighter future for every child is what Karen Davis believes in, and it starts with reading.
Unfortunately, not all children have access to books, especially those on Canada’s reserves.
But Davis is on a mission to change that.
Her inspiration comes from the Imagination Library, started by country music icon Dolly Parton in Tennessee in 1996. The charity sends one book a month to pre-school children who would otherwise never get one.
Davis launched the idea in Canada. She first signed up Ebb and Flow First Nation, the Manitoba reserve where she grew up. This was also where she learned the magic that books can create, thanks to her grandmother.
“She donated the front part of her home, so the children in the community would have some place to go to school,” Davis says.
Now, Davis is doing her own part to help children, specifically, pre-schoolers on every reserve in Manitoba. Most reserves don’t have public libraries, and many northern stores don’t sell books. Making sure 10,261 children have something to read is a lofty dream that requires a lot of time, and a lot of money: $1.5 million.
After starting Imagination Libraries on two reserves, and raising tens of thousands of dollars, Davis is planning more events to get more cash. But organizing these events is time consuming, so she’s found a way to tie it into her regular duties at the West Region Tribal Council, often rushing from her own board to another meeting with supporters, and talking up the campaign at the local radio station.
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“For me, it’s not going to stop until our First Nations communities are replicated. I know that, that’s a goal I set,” she says.
“I just feel I’ve been blessed with a gift, in regards to speaking passionately and motivating others.”
The work doesn’t stop once Davis gets home either. To no surprise, her kitchen doubles as an office. Every night, Davis is reading, writing, and figuring out new ways to raise money. “I don’t know. I don’t know where I get the energy from, but I can say this – it is like a full-time job.”
“But it is so, so gratifying,” she adds.
“My mom always says that ‘Imagination Library is going to kill you,'” Davis says laughing. “I just feel really passionate.”
“I just think it’s important to provide our young children with everything we can.”
“God forbid, if nothing else happens, more people will be aware of the Imagination Library across Canada,” Davis says.
While Davis admits the work can be draining at times, it all pays off when she runs into families on the street. “This mom of this little boy thought every time (he went) to the post office…(that it was) his birthday.”
“I just think everyone should do their part…I really really do.”
The program is already in many Canadian communities, including 25 in Manitoba, with Davis having helped all of them.
With files from Global National’s Crystal Goomansingh and Dawna Friesen
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