We need you to be a part of Men IN Action READ 2025!

On Thursday, March 13, 2025 Sheltering Wings and Men IN Action will send 450+ men into schools throughout the county to read a book to students that focuses on supportive adult relationships, a caring school climate, service to others and a sense of purpose.

What would happen if you helped the next generation establish itself upon a foundation of trust, honor, and mutual respect? We believe the men in our community have a unique role to play in this endeavor. Please sign up today and help us fill every classroom!

Registration is $20 and it ensures each classroom gets a book to keep and a reader. Readers will receive a t-shirt and light breakfast.

We choose the books we read carefully. We want to be sure that they faithfully depict the 40 Developmental Assets we are trying to reinforce. And, once we’ve read them, we leave them as gifts for the students to enjoy.

Our 2025 book has yet to be finalized, but stay tuned for the big reveal!

The 2024 book was In Our Garden by Pat Zeitlow Miller. In this book, a young girl named Millie has an idea to build a garden in her community, but it takes more than ideas to build a garden. It takes supplies and hard work; it takes a lot of learning; and it takes a whole school – a whole community – coming together to help.

2013’s book was Meesha Makes Friends by Tom Percival! This was a warm and affectionate story about the joys and difficulties of building and maintaining friendships. It helped build the developmental assets of Family Support, Interpersonal Competence, Self Esteem, Reading for Pleasure!

In 2022, our book was Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown! In this book, Marisol, a biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl, learns the importance of individuality, self-expression, and the importance of staying true to yourself!

In 2021, we did a virtual read of Strictly No Elephants, an imaginative and sweet story that reflects caring friendships and inclusion of all.

During 2020, we chose What Should Danny Do? School Day a choose-your-own-adventure book about a little boy with a superpower: the power to choose.

The 40 Developmental Assets® Framework, created by the Search Institute, has identified 40 positive life experiences that young people need to have in order to grow into successful, thriving and contributing members of their community. When youth are given access to more assets, they are more likely to thrive throughout their lives, are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors and are more likely to develop the resilience they need to face life’s challenges.
The Assets can be broken into two categories external assets and internal assets.

External Assets

  • Family support
  • Positive family communication
  • Caring neighborhood
  • Community values youth
  • Safety
  • Service to others
  • Adult role models
  • Religious community
  • and more

Internal Assets

  • School engagement
  • Reading for pleasure
  • Integrity
  • Honesty
  • Responsibility
  • Self-esteem
  • Sense of purpose
  • and more

Learn more about the 40 Developmental Assets and contact us by visiting this page.

  • Prompt conversations with children about three vital character values: positive values, social competence and commitment to learning.
  • Engage men in initiatives with young people in our community, which will open the door to deeper and longer-lasting volunteer opportunities.
  • Demonstrate, in a tangible way, that there are hundreds of men in our community who stand for healthy values and relationships.

Thank you for allowing Men IN Action READ to share the morning with your students! We hope you enjoy the program.

Come back soon for classroom activities to accompany the book!