One Cedar City teen said she hopes the next great adventure for local children begins with turning the first page of a book.
Abigail Kjelstrom, a contestant in the upcoming Miss Iron County's Teen competition, is the founder of Read to Rise, a literacy-focused community service initiative dedicated to increasing access to books and reading resources for children throughout Southern Utah. Through book drives, neighborhood lending libraries and literacy kits, Kjelstrom hopes to inspire children to see reading as an adventure rather than a chore.
“My initiative just focuses on promoting childhood literacy and also making books more accessible to children,” Kjelstrom told St. George News. “I also believe that every child deserves the opportunity to find the love of reading regardless of their background or financial situation.”
Kjelstrom said her passion for literacy began at home. Her mother, a first grade teacher at North Elementary School in Cedar City, has long championed childhood literacy.
“She is the No. 1 teacher in the Iron County district that has the best reading scores for first grade teachers,” Kjelstrom said.
This past school year, Kjelstrom completed an internship at North Elementary, assisting in her mother's classroom and several others. She said watching students improve throughout the year left a lasting impression.
“From the first of the year to the end of the year, I saw the impact and the growth that occurred from reading,” she said. “I knew some of the kids had issues with their home lives, but despite that, their reading scores went up, and the growth was amazing.”
The experience inspired her to launch Read to Rise.
“That’s what influenced me to do this, because I feel like it’s a good thing for the community and the community can help out,” she said. “It’s just something good for the community to recognize.”
Kjelstrom said one of the biggest obstacles children face is a lack of support at home. She also worries about the "summer slide," when students lose reading skills over the summer months as they spend more time playing and less time reading.
She said she hopes to change that by helping children associate books with fun and discovery.
“I just really believe that a book has the power to change little children’s lives,” she said. “It builds their confidence and their creativity and creates opportunities that can last a lifetime. It helps them build so much.”
One of Read to Rise's recent projects was a community book drive aimed at stocking local Little Free Library boxes and other neighborhood lending libraries. Kjelstrom said her long-term vision is to establish a lending library in every neighborhood or school boundary throughout Southern Utah, beginning in Cedar City.
She is currently working with the Cedar City Lions Club, whose board includes a member of the Cedar City Council. Kjelstrom said she has an upcoming meeting with city leaders to discuss expanding neighborhood lending libraries throughout the city before eventually bringing the program to St. George, Hurricane and beyond.
She is also planning a fundraiser to support the initiative by creating literacy kits for children. The basic kits will include a book, bookmark, pencil, reading challenge sheet and sticker. More advanced kits will also include a reading journal, additional stickers and another reading challenge sheet. Proceeds from the fundraiser will help purchase additional books while providing the kits to local children.
While Read to Rise has quickly grown, Kjelstrom said one of its most memorable moments came during a recent guest reading at the Cedar City Library.
She read "The Mixed-Up Chameleon" to a crowd of toddlers through fifth grade students during a week themed around plants and Earth. Library organizers told her it was one of the largest turnouts they had seen for a children's reading event in quite some time.
“The kids were laughing at the chameleon because it looked so funny, but at the same time the book is sharing such an impactful message to be who you are because you’re meant to be you for a reason,” she said.
Afterward, families stayed for crafts and snacks, and many of the children wanted to take photos with her.
“That was one of my favorite moments with this initiative,” Kjelstrom said. “Especially because my goal is to go read in classrooms to spread the initiative, and I'm excited to do that and hope it goes just as well.”
Kjelstrom will compete for the Miss Iron County's Teen title on Aug. 15. Although she has considered competing for years, this will be her first pageant.
As a dancer, she said she grew up watching friends compete in pageants but never imagined herself on stage.
“I thought the idea was pretty cool, like dressing up in pretty dresses and stuff, but obviously I didn’t know what all came with it,” she said. “I was just this shy little girl that wanted to sit back and watch instead.”
She credits her best friend, the current Miss Iron County's Teen, with encouraging her to compete and showing her how contestants can use the platform to make a meaningful difference in their communities.
“I love little kids, and I wanted to make a change in their lives and in their future,” she said.
Whether through pageantry, community partnerships or story time at the library, Kjelstrom said her mission remains the same: helping children discover a lifelong love of reading.
“I just really believe that literacy is so important,” she said. “I really would like children to find a love for reading. I don’t want reading to be like a chore; I want it to be as fun as playing outside with a bike or Barbies. I want to make a difference with reading like that so children can find a love for it while they’re still building themselves up.”
For more information or to follow Read to Rise, visit @readtorise26 on Instagram.