A dozen people spent their Saturday working in the corner of a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Johnstown, scattered among rows of stacked cardboard boxes. Some volunteers opened packages and inspected the contents, while others grouped magazines by category or interest.
They are all here for the same reason: to support MagLiteracy, a Johnstown-based nonprofit targeting the literacy gap across the nation.
John Mennell of Granville, Ohio, founded the nonprofit organization, which specializes in ending the literacy crisis across the nation. This is no small feat.
Read More: MagLiteracy: Sharing the literacy love
Across the country, literacy rates are falling, according to surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics and testing conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. According to testing from the NAEP, nearly 33% of eighth graders in 2024 had “below basic” reading skills – the highest percentage of “below basic” skills for eighth graders in the exam’s history.
But in Licking County, Mennell is tackling illiteracy one magazine at a time.
The organization will reach hundreds of families hungry to read with a bonafide newsstand from an old Kroger set up in the Licking County Memorial Hospital.
“Look, this point took 30 years to get to,” Mennell said, his hand resting on a priority mailing box, a smile encroaching. “It’s not frustrating, and I don’t want to say it’s embarrassing, either. It’s been a whole journey, but [now] we have newsstands. Literal newsstands in supermarkets.”
There is no progress without steady, hard work.
Recently, the organization has made significant strides in solidifying its presence in central Ohio food pantries, like the Mid-Ohio Market in Grove City, where it opened a literacy newsstand to display magazines for readers.
It has also initiated a relationship with nearby paper mills to send inadequate magazines—the organization only keeps gently used ones—for repurposing instead of going to landfills. Inheriting old magazines for the new recycling program benefits MagLiteracy, as it creates revenue from the paper mills and is a more sustainable approach to literacy.
Renee Butt grabbed a cardboard box from the never-ending piles. She searched the outside for a label, craning her neck and checking every side. After identifying the subject, whether plant-based foods, Led Zeppelin, or fashion, Butt moved the case of magazines to a spot on a pallet-in-preparation near corresponding niches.
Mennell will wander past her area and start undoing everything she’s organized. He marvels at every box in the neatly stacked columns, eager to open them and flip through the magazines’ sleek pages.
Mennell caught himself ripping packing tape from the “plant-based food” box. “See!” he said. “Each column is a category she organized, and at the end of the day, I disorganize it, then she goes back the next time and fixes it.”
Butt, 41, laughed, box in her arms, as she emerged from behind high towers of cardboard boxes.
“How long have you been here now, Renee?” Mennell asked. “A couple of years?”
“Yeah,” Butt responded, placing the box in a designated column. “Gosh, it has been a few years.”
Butt, who lives in Columbus, found MagLiteracy through a volunteer match website; however, she grew up in Johnstown, revisiting her childhood on the way to the warehouse and dedicated hours to the non-profit organization.
“I love to read, and so the idea of helping others get access to reading materials drew me to this organization,” Butt said. “Also, every time I come, there are familiar faces, and that common thread is so nice.”
Consistency. It may sound cliché, but it truly makes things work.
The volunteers in the warehouse — owned by the Atrium Corporation — are like a big family. They show up any Saturday to organize packages, prep pallets, scout potential organizations to partner with or donate magazines to, and so much more.
Wendy Rood, 66, one of MagLiteracy’s volunteer team leaders since 2022, is determined to drop off magazines throughout the Appalachian region of Ohio. A retired teacher living in New Albany, Rood reaches out to find schools and libraries needing magazines.
She talked to Mennell about it, her hand resting on a stack of boxes at hip level. Rood expressed her frustration with missed calls and empty leads after sending countless emails, handwritten letters, and visiting schools in person or on their websites.
“Don’t worry,” Mennell says, “All in due time. It’ll happen.”
Not every step is a big move, but keep going.
It was Lilly Whitcomb’s first time volunteering with MagLiteracy. She wrapped a cube of boxes with a hefty roll of plastic wrap, walking around and letting the plastic layer over itself.
Whitcomb just finished her Master’s Degree at Heidelberg University in 2024, receiving a degree in business administration.
“I wanted to find something meaningful to do,” she explained. “I wanted to make an impact.” Whitcomb, who lives in Columbus, drove up to Johnstown on a whim after seeing MagLiteracy on a volunteer website.
“Literacy has never been more important than now,” Whitcomb added. “I will definitely return to help [Magliteracy] again.”
MagLiteracy is sizing up and transforming its corner of the Atrium warehouse into a bookstore-esque space. The space will have shelves lining the walls and storage for the increasing number of donated magazines.
One of the biggest supporters of MagLiteracy has been Highlights, an organization that creates magazines for children. They’re sent thousands of archived editions of magazines to the Johnstown warehouse.
“[Highlights] has entrusted us with their whole inventory as a way of promoting literacy,” Mennell said.
After sorting through the collection, MagLiteracy returned five magazines for Highlights’ archives and gave the rest for free to citizens in Ohio and beyond. Over the last few years, MagLiteracy materials have ended up in states around the country, as well as beyond the U.S. border — including schools in Ukraine.
“It’s gratifying to have achieved a level of service and reliability where companies and partners trust us,” Mennell said, “but for now, we have to keep on working.”
Brin Glass writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.