Nearly a decade after placing its first books in barber shops and beauty salons, Springfield nonprofit Conscious Connect has now distributed 100,000 free books to children and families across the Miami Valley.
Karlos Marshall and Moses Mbeseha founded the organization in 2016. Conscious Connect celebrated the milestone during a book giveaway at the Covenant Freedom School in Springfield this week.
What started as an effort to make books more accessible in urban areas has grown into a regional literacy initiative.
"We started this organization with the root program, where our goal was to place books in barber shops and beauty salons," Mbeseha said. "We expanded that to freedom schools, churches, community centers and things of that nature."
Marshall said reaching 100,000 books is the result of years of support from volunteers, local businesses and community partners who believed in the idea from the beginning.
"There are so many people to thank behind the scenes who work tirelessly," Marshall said. "This is not just a celebration for Conscious Connect, but the entire Greater Miami Valley region."
Marshall and Mbeseha achieved national recognition in 2018 when they were named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in the education category.
The following year, their nonprofit made history as the first Ohio organization and the first Black-founded and led nonprofit to be honored by the United States Library of Congress Literacy Awards. In 2022, the organization continued striving for greatness, receiving the Ohio Education Library Media Association Literacy Leader Award and an Accommodation from the American Association of School Librarians through the American Library Association.
The organization said more than 85% of the books it distributes are culturally relevant and age appropriate. Those stories help children recognize themselves in the pages they read while also introducing them to new people, places, and ideas, Marshall said.
"It's extremely important that children have access to books that reflect their own lived experiences, but also can take them places they've never been through the pages," Marshall said.
James Banks, who will start first grade in the fall, said he has read about a dozen books this year and typically reads with his parents at night.
While Conscious Connect has expanded into housing, economic development and neighborhood revitalization, literacy remains at the core of its work.
The organization supports 48 local small businesses, manages 31 Little Free Libraries, and stocks free book carts at 12 indoor locations, including Dayton’s 2nd Street Market.
The nonprofit is now preparing to publish its first children's book.
