Rowan Childs found her passion for reading at a young age and developed the non-profit, Madison Reading Project, to help youth get access to good, quality books. Rowan and her team have provided over 300,000 books to thousands of youth across the Dane County area. She developed an incredible non-profit that is truly making a difference in the great state of Wisconsin. Thank you, Rowan, for joining Wisco Legacy to share your story.
Here are three things I learned from Rowan during our conversation on episode 35 of Wisco Legacy
Find Your Passion
Rowan found her passion for giving back by happenstance. Her son's teacher told her that he was falling behind, so she invested a great deal of time in getting him up to speed. She then realized an opportunity and created the Madison Reading Project. Finding something you are passionate about completely changes your life. For Rowan, her workload doubled. She went from working a full-time job to doing that and building a non-profit. I've personally found something that I'm passionate about, Wisco Legacy. It's been an incredible journey to build out Wisco Legacy. I'm constantly learning and growing my technical skills, finding efficiencies in my workflows, learning new skills, etc. I needed a creative outlet and Wisco Legacy was the perfect match for me. I will write an article soon explaining the "why" behind Wisco Legacy, but know that this is my passion project. I am passionate about sharing stories of inspiring Wisconsinites. That is why I spend so much time working outside of my day job and family time building this. Some day soon, I am planning on monetizing the podcast through Patreon, merchandise and sponsorships to help me continue to grow the podcast and provide a great product. I always want to provide a way to give back to the state that I love. I can't do this podcast without everyone who listens and supports. My conversation with Rowan helped solidify my passion for this.
Make A Difference
We each have the same amount of time each day, it's what we do with that time that matters the most. For the last eight years, Rowan worked a full-time job, raised a family and grew the Madison Reading Project. Prioritizing all of that had to be an incredible balancing act. However, it was all worth it. Rowan recently left her full-time job to become the Executive Director of the Madison Reading Project full-time. She has made a tremendous impact by doing this work while having a full-time job. I asked her "How excited are you to do this full-time?" Her smile said it all. This is a great opportunity to really grow and serve even more youth. So, what did I learn from Rowan about making a difference? I learned that you have the ability to make an impact, even if you have limited time. If you are passionate about something, you will make the time to focus on that. This is something I want to do more of. Between working full-time, having a family and managing Wisco Legacy, my time is pretty limited. However, I know that I can give back more and hope to do more of that moving forward.
Read More Books!
I have dabbled in reading for years. I enjoy going to Barnes & Noble and searching for a book that I can really dig into. Inevitably, I've racked up more books than I have read. I've been trying to consume more books. I consume content best through audio, so I downloaded the Audible app. It has been a game changer for me. I can listen to books while I work, drive, etc. and still focus on what I'm doing. I also have a kindle and am trying to read more physical books. To me, it's a way to escape and decompress. Rowan has inspired me to start reading more physical books. There is something to be said about turning a page and finishing a physical book.
This was also a great reminder to continue to read to my children. Reading is foundational to life and teaching my children to be passionate about reading is something I am going to put more emphasis on moving forward. My children are fortunate enough to have MANY newer books at home. This conversation with Rowan really made me think about the importance of reading to my children.
And that's a wrap! Thank you, Rowan, for an incredible conversation. The work you and your team are doing for countless children around the Dane County area with the Madison Reading Project is truly remarkable. Keep up the great work! If you liked this article, please fill out the subscribe form on my website to be the first to read it: Subscribe Here.
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Thanks again for reading!