Partner Spotlight: Inspiring Alexandria’s littlest readers with InspireLit

We love working with local organizations and nonprofits to support and give back to our community. Whether through donations, programs or events, these groups help make Alexandria and the surrounding areas the wonderful community they are. 

Today, we’re talking with Erica Jones, co-director of InspireLit, about inspiring Alexandria’s littlest readers.

Hi Erica, thanks for chatting with us today! Can you tell us a bit about your organization and mission?

InspireLit is an Alexandria-based nonprofit founded in 2016 by Jen Kenealy and me, two Alexandria moms and educators, to address the inequity in resources in our city. We utilize our backgrounds in teaching reading and children’s literature to create a brighter future for underserved children in our community through the power of literacy. Jen and I are supported by a dedicated board and a team of passionate volunteers who help advance our mission to inspire the joy of literacy by ensuring access to diverse books, fostering connections with reading role models, and engaging families in meaningful literacy experiences.

How do your key programs support your mission?

We advance our mission through three core tenets: providing book access and choice, connecting children with inspiring reading role models, and promoting literacy through family outreach. We share books with children and families through free book fairs held in partnership with community organizations throughout the year, where youth and adult volunteers serve as reading role models at these events, helping children discover what Katherine Applegate calls their “best friend book”, a story that sparks joy and excitement about reading. We also have 13 free book-sharing shelves in spaces where families already access essential services, including food assistance hubs, health clinics, and public benefits offices. Over the past year, we’ve deepened our impact through family outreach, creating preschool home libraries, sharing reading tips with caregivers, and hosting author visits that make children and families feel valued and connected to literacy.

You have a strong foundation in Alexandria – how are your local ties important to the creation of your non-profit and to your current work?

Our roots in Alexandria shape everything we do. We’re building a vibrant literacy community where every child can thrive through equitable access to books and the joy of shared stories. This work is powered by strong local partnerships with businesses and organizations that host book drives and sponsor book tables, youth volunteers who help children choose their “best friend book,” and collaborations with fellow nonprofits and Title I ACPS schools serving the same children and families. These partnerships help us reach our goals of expanding access to books, creating joyful reading experiences, and growing readers in Alexandria.

Let’s talk about why diverse books are so important for Alexandria’s children! Tell us what you think and/or have noticed about how children engage with characters and stories they can relate to.

One of the strengths of our city is its diversity, and sharing diverse books with children not only recognizes this diversity but also celebrates it!  Seeing themselves in a story sparks a unique joy and validation like no other. Similarly, reading books that offer insight into the lives of our neighbors and classmates elicits empathy and understanding for others.

We have several ongoing projects with your organization, including a longstanding holiday book drive.  Could you tell our community why the book drive is key to your work?

We often say we’re in the business of “selling literacy,” striving to spark a genuine love of reading in the next generation. Our holiday book drive is essential to that mission. While we always aim to share giftable books, whether gently used or new, we’re especially intentional during the holidays about offering books that feel truly gift-worthy. Increasing our supply with new, engaging, and highly sought-after titles brings an extra level of excitement to our book tables. When children see beautiful, brand-new books, it sends a powerful message that reading matters and so do they.

How else can locals and local businesses support your efforts?

There are many meaningful ways for locals and local businesses to support our work. We need children’s books year-round, new or gently used, with board books, picture books, and graphic novels our most sought-after. Hosting a book drive within your neighborhood, workplace, or network is a powerful way to help keep our sharing shelves and book tables full of engaging books. 

As a small but mighty nonprofit, we rely on monetary donations and sponsorships to extend our reach and make a greater impact. Support for our book tables at community events and our sharing shelves, located where families access essential services, helps ensure children and families can consistently choose and take home books of their own to read together.

In the fall of 2025, we launched an exciting new initiative in partnership with Old Town Books, bringing bestselling, award-winning authors to Title I ACPS schools and putting a copy of each author’s just-released book into every student’s hands. Thanks to our generous sponsor Convene Architecture and a significant donation from DRBA’s Bands & Brews, these visits have not only been possible, they’ve been an incredible success. As one Ramsay student exclaimed, “This is the best day ever!”

We would love to continue this program with the amazing team at Old Town Books, and community sponsorships will make it possible to bring more authors, more books, and more unforgettable reading experiences to local students.

Alexandria is a city of readers, and we’ve got to know what you’re reading!

I’m almost always reading one book in print and listening to another on audiobook. I’m currently reading WOODWORKING by Emily St. James and was hooked by the characters from the start. Erica and Abigail may insist they’re not friends (yet), but I already feel like they’re mine. I usually listen to YA mysteries, but right now I’m listening to THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by Kazuo Ishiguro because my son read it at JMU this year and highly recommended it. 

Special thanks to Erica for talking with us today! Check back for new spotlights with other Old Town Books partners soon.