Edmunds County Tribune -

The Stephanie Miller-Davis Library Summer Reading Grant Program has continued its fourth year supporting summer reading programs in small rural communities in partnership with the South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) and the South Dakota State Library (SDSL). The program has now distributed nearly $150,000 to libraries in rural communities across South Dakota.

The Marcus P. Beebe Library in Ipswich was one of the 2023 libraries awarded $1,500 to support their summer reading program.

Stephanie loved books. She started her legacy by donating children’s books and bookcases to the school library in her hometown of Murdo. She wanted to provide the children in the community the books she longed to read as a child growing up on the South Dakota prairie.

“My mother’s legacy will go on through this exciting grant program,” said Stephanie’s daughter, Anne Franz. “If my mom was here today, I think she would be proud that we are continuing to support the heroic work of parents, teachers, librarians and other community members to provide every child the chance to read.”

“The South Dakota Community Foundation is proud to partner with the Stephanie Miller-Davis family as they perpetuate their mother’s passion and investment in early childhood literacy across South Dakota,” said Jeff Veltkamp, SDCF Director of Development. “I think Stephanie would be very proud to see her daughters continuing her investment in children.”

The SDCF administers over 1,100 funds benefiting thousands of wonderful causes every year. To learn more about charitable opportunities through the SDCF, visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/ or call (605) 224-1025.

The South Dakota State Library (SDSL) is a division of the South Dakota Department of Education. The State Library supports local libraries and works to build capacity within the state’s public and school libraries, which successfully reached the goal of 100,000 South Dakota children participating in summer reading programs in 2021. The State Library encourages families to visit their local library, get involved in events and activities and keep growing readers. To learn more, visit https://library.sd.gov/CAL/2023/SDSummerReading2023.aspx .