More Than Words on a Page
A letter from Wild Iris Marketing founder, Mindy Hanson. The cover photo above is taken in a learning library in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya during a 2025 Rotary service trip.
Every year on September 8, International Literacy Day reminds us of something many of us take for granted, the ability to read can change the entire direction of a life.
For me, reading has never been simply a practical skill. Books have been entertainment, education, escape and inspiration. They have taken me to places I may never visit and helped me understand people whose lives look nothing like mine. They have also led me to new friendships and unexpected opportunities. Conversations that began with, “Have you read this?” have grown into meaningful connections, shared projects and lasting relationships.
That is the quiet power of a book. It can open a door long before we know where that door might lead.
Literacy Is Easy to Take for Granted
Those of us who read every day may not stop to think about how often we rely on literacy. We read directions, medication labels, contracts, job applications, school emails, news stories and instructions. We use reading and comprehension to make decisions about our health, our money, our families and our communities.
Yet access to literacy is far from universal. According to UNESCO, at least 739 million youth and adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills.
The problem is not limited to other countries. The 2023 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies found that 28% of U.S. adults scored at or below Level 1 in literacy, an increase from 19% in 2017. Those numbers represent real people navigating a world built around written information.
Getting Books Into Children’s Hands
The path to literacy often begins before a child enters a classroom. It begins when a parent or caregiver opens a book, points to a picture and shares a story.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was created to make that experience possible for more children. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly Parton started the program in 1995 in her home county in Tennessee. Today, the program operates in five countries and mails more than 3 million free, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth to age five.
It is difficult to find a credible, current count of all children worldwide who have no books at home, and the Imagination Library does not publish one. Its materials do, however, cite research showing that 60% of kindergartners in neighborhoods where children performed poorly in school did not own a single book. One local Imagination Library partner also reports that two out of three low-income families in its community have no children’s books at home. These figures are not global estimates, but they show why book access matters and why local programs are so important.
Through my home club, the Rotary Club of Evergreen, I have had the opportunity to support our local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. It is beautifully simple. Enrolled children receive a book in the mail every month, building a home library of their own at no cost to their families. A book addressed directly to a child is more than a learning tool. It tells that child, “This is yours. You are a reader. Your imagination matters.”
Literacy and Rotary
Basic Education and Literacy is one of Rotary International’s seven areas of focus. Rotary works to strengthen communities’ ability to support education, increase adult literacy and reduce disparities in access to learning.
That commitment can take many forms. For my club, it may mean supporting schools and teachers, providing scholarships, distributing books, holding book club gatherings and more!
Connecting Neighbors
My own work with Little Free Libraries has shown me how something small can make a meaningful difference. A little box of books in a neighborhood is an invitation. Take a book, leave a book and share a story. It removes barriers such as cost, transportation and library hours. It also creates a visible reminder that reading belongs in the community and that books are meant to be shared.
There is something wonderful about watching books move from one reader to another. You may never know who picked up the mystery you donated, which child discovered a favorite character or which neighbor found exactly the story they needed that day. But the possibility is always there.
Books Build Connections
At Wild Iris Marketing, much of my work is about communication and connection. Literacy is at the heart of both.
Reading helps us find the words to explain an idea, tell a story and understand another point of view. It gives us common ground. A book can start a conversation between strangers, bring people together in a book club or introduce us to a cause we later choose to support. It can help us see an opportunity we would otherwise have missed.
I know this because books have done all of those things for me. My passion for reading has brought new people into my life and helped turn shared interests into friendships. Books have expanded my thinking, influenced my work and led me toward opportunities I could not have predicted when I first opened them.
Not every book changes a life in a dramatic, obvious way. Sometimes it simply plants an idea. Sometimes it offers comfort. Sometimes it gives us a reason to sit down with someone and talk. Those small moments matter too.
What Can We Do?
International Literacy Day is a good time to appreciate the ability to read, but appreciation is only the beginning. We can also help make books and literacy support available to more people.
Consider donating to a local literacy organization, supporting The Rotary Foundation, sponsoring a child through a local Imagination Library program or adding books to a Little Free Library. Read with a child. Volunteer as a tutor. Share a book that mattered to you.
Because when we give someone access to words, stories and ideas, we are giving them more than a book. We are giving them another way to understand the world and imagine their place in it.
And there is no telling which friendship, dream or opportunity might begin on the next page.
Learn More
Give it a Human Touch
For most small businesses, leaning into the human element is in practice pretty simple. It doesn’t require you to have a massive content operation, it just requires a shift in how you think about what you’re putting out into the world.
Share what you’re seeing in your market right now, talk about a specific customer interaction that made you think, or write about a mistake you made and what you learned from it. Show the work you do, not just the results. These are things you have done and that only you can provide, and they will help people feel like they know you before they’ve ever called or visited you.
That’s the goal of marketing. When a potential customer reaches out, you want them to feel like they’re calling someone they already trust, not just contacting a random business they found on Google search.
Wild Iris Marketing can help you harness your human voice and spread it across your content, your social media, your newsletters, and your website. If your marketing feels like it could have come from any generic competitor in any generic city, then let’s get together and talk about fixing it.