Columbus, Ohio · Community Literacy Initiative

Literacy is not just reading words.
It is reading the world.

J Merrill Foundation Inc. equips individuals and communities with the resources, relationships, and technology to tell their stories and transform their futures.

Get InvolvedSee Our Impact
75+
Families Served
Thanksgiving 2025
150
Family Goal
Thanksgiving 2026
1
Published Book
Chillicothe 8th Grade
1
Reading Station
Charter #154418

"J Merrill Foundation Inc. exists to advance literacy in all its forms — equipping individuals and communities with the resources, relationships, and technology to tell their stories and transform their futures."

What We Do

Programs Built for
Real Community Impact

🍽Active

Community Table

Our flagship community service program. In partnership with the Byron Saunders Foundation, we serve Thanksgiving meals to families across Columbus. 25 families in 2023, 50 in 2024, 75 in 2025. Our 2026 goal: 150.

📖In Development

Story Hour Library

A free digital reading library in development for 2026 where volunteers read children's books on screen. Children will be able to access the library anytime. Community voices, reading to community children.

✍Signature

Classroom Author Project

Our most distinctive program. We partner with schools to take students from blank page to published author. The Chillicothe 8th Grade class proved it works — their book is real, printed, and in the world.

📚Active

Reading Stations

A chartered network of Read In Color Little Free Libraries embedded in Columbus communities. Charter #154418 is live. Scan the QR code inside to access our digital Story Hour library.

🌐Relaunching

Literacy Bridge

ESL instruction offered virtually for adult learners. We offered classes in 2024, and Literacy Bridge is being relaunched in 2026 with a dedicated instructor and a weekly schedule.

💻Coming 2026

DigiReady

Digital literacy workshops for community members who need confidence with everyday tools, job readiness, online access, and practical technology skills.

Signature Proof of Model

Let Me Tell You About It —
From Students to Published Authors

We partnered with Chillicothe, Ohio's 8th grade class — not to teach them about writing, but to make them authors. The result was a real, published book that carries their voices into the world.

That project is not just history. It is the prototype for the Classroom Author Project — a repeatable, fundable model we are bringing to schools across Ohio.

Learn About the Program →
Let Me Tell You About It — book cover

"We did not just teach students to write. We made them authors. That changes how they see themselves — and how the world sees them."

JS

Jackie Smith Jr.

Founder & CEO, J Merrill Foundation Inc.

Free Books in the Neighborhood

The Parsons Avenue Reading Station

Our chartered Read In Color Little Free Library on Parsons Avenue is the Foundation's physical presence in the community — a place where books are always free, always available, and always representative of the people who live nearby.

Find a Reading Station

Charter Number

#154418

Location

Columbus, OH

Designation

Read In Color

Access

Easy Access

Governance Rebuild — Open Now

We Are Building Our Board.
We Are Looking for You.

J Merrill Foundation is active again with a clear mission, responsible systems for coordinating the work, and real programs that have already changed lives. We need board members who believe literacy is infrastructure.

See Open Board SeatsVolunteer Instead

Help fund the next reader.

Your gift helps fund books, literacy access, community programs, and responsible program operations.

Donate Now