Team On The Rocks had Clinton Middle Schoolers build six Little Free Libraries to place in various community areas throughout Rock County. (Example: One on Bluff Street, outside Family promise.) They held a book drive/book collection to help fill the libraries. Once installed and filled, they will have an unveiling for each one to make the community aware of their presence. 

2. Team “On The Rocks”
● Emma Behrens - formerly of Balsley Printing
● Jim Brewer - Clinton School District
● Kayla Oestreich - Community Action
● Matt Robinson - City of Janesville
● Sarah Millard - City of Beloit
● Tonya Jackson - Mercy Health

3. Project Overview
Create literacy opportunities for the youth in Rock County to help support lifelong
learning.

4. Free Libraries
● Six little free libraries will be
placed around the County at the
locations listed to the right
○ Due to COVID-19 and the
shutdown of schools, we still
need to distribute and install
the libraries
● Built by students from Clinton
Middle School
● Supplies donated by Gilbank
Construction
● Carver-Roehl Park
● Clinton Elementary School
● Family Promise in Beloit
● Merrill Community Center
● Orfordville School District
● Vernon Park

8. Book Drive
● Beloit Turner vs Clinton High
School basketball game
● Fans who brought a book received
free admission
● Collected 150+ books to place in
the little free libraries

9. Project Vision Pre-COVID
● Children’s Book
○ Envisioned an ABCs of Rock County book that was planned to make it relatively easy for
parents to create opportunities to build language skills by talking with their children about
places in our community and then explore with hands.
○ However, we were unable to raise enough funds to make this possible and we were uncertain
if the project would truly have the impact we wanted.
● Literacy Event
○ Literacy for Life meetings in Beloit made it clear that there was a goal of reaching individuals in
the community with literacy through trusted voices. Service providers were ready to provide
literacy opportunities, but needed that connection with the residents, particularly those who
have been marginalized.
○ We were partnering with Community Action to bring a large literacy event “Spring into
Reading” that would connect residents to services when COVID-19 hit. Due to the uncertainty
of the pandemic, we made one final change to our project.

10. Backpack Program
$300 in donations for activity
books and backpacks for
Beloit students during
COVID-19.

11. Donations
Thank you to our donors
● Linda Ross
● Lindsay Lock
● Josh Lock
● Diane Lock
● Sarah Millard
● Kayla Oestreich

12. Challenges
● Communication
○ Suggestion to future groups: use personal email for communication
● Narrowing our focus
● Flexibility

13. Lessons Learned
● Flexibility
● Prioritize
● Work with a non-profit to determine specific needs before deciding your
project in a vacuum
● Hold each other accountable