A new local nonprofit is hoping to change the future of the Mt. Pleasant community one child and one book at a time.
Sleepy Dog Books Foundation (SDBF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization co-founded by Riley and Jenny Justis, owners of the brick-and-mortar small business, Sleepy Dog Books. Their store was created to address a local need for a high-quality bookstore and to increase access to books for students in the community.
While the store has only been around since May 2022, they’ve already launched additional programming, including their school book vending machine in 2023. In June 2024, the Foundation launched, which aims to further their mission of getting books into homes, even more.
Riley and Jenny Justis both attended Central Michigan University and studied education before moving to Alaska for teaching jobs. After moving back to the Mt. Pleasant community about 10 years ago, they fell in love with the area again—this time as parents instead of college students.
“We are both teachers and have a passion for education and literacy,” Riley says. “We decided to take the plunge and open a book store in Mt. Pleasant. We have fallen in love with the community, and wanted to be supportive to the community by building out the bookstore, and then onto the Foundation itself.”
Through their time teaching and spent in academia, the duo became more aware of just how few books were in the area, which is considered a book desert based on U.S. Census data.
Michigan is ranked 41 out of 50 states in the number of bookstores per capita in the U.S. This comes out to just one book store per 50,000 residents in the state of Michigan. These small numbers can lead to limited access to books for all ages of readers, resulting in lower literacy or reading proficiency rates.
Courtesy Sleepy Dog BooksBook vending machines at Mt. Pleasant Public Schools’s Fancher Elementary.
To help address this issue, Sleepy Dog Books Foundation has created a multi-faceted approach with services, programs, and resources. Through grants and philanthropic efforts, the Foundation aims to offer book vending, literacy packs, community programming, and mobile book programs.
“Our book trailer can bring hundreds or thousands of books to these different community activities and really allow students to have that experience of shopping for a book. They can get high-quality, brand-new books for free,” Riley says.
Because of the socioeconomic diversity within the central region of Michigan, Riley says books, unfortunately, aren’t always considered a necessity for many families. By providing free books, he hopes to show the community how impactful reading and owning books can be. Especially when they’re books that kids want to read.
“We’re able to support this need with free books and book giveaways, but not just books that are left over,” he says. “We want to give kids the books they are talking about in the classroom, or they’re related to the newest movie trends and cartoons that are coming out. We’re trying to increase interest in reading, not just having more books available.”
As an educator and administrator, Riley recognizes the powerful upward mobility literacy can bring to individuals and the community as a whole.
“I think literacy is an early identifier and access point for children to see the future growth potential of their learning process,” he says. “I think early literacy strategies and intervention really drives the whole learning outcomes we can experience within the community.”
The SDBF is hosting its inaugural fundraising Golden Gala event, a whimsical night of live music, entertainment, food and drink, raffles, and book activities and awards. The event is considered formal, but black tie attire is not necessary. The Golden Gala is
on Saturday, March 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the CMU Bovee University Center Rotunda. Tickets are $60 per person, and are available online and in the store.
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