Tommy Oliver never imagined he'd be a single parent at age 50. But when his daughter died in 2016, there he was, on his own, raising three granddaughters ages 4 and younger.

"It was like starting all over," he said. "My youngest is 20, and the stuff (the grandkids) are doing, I've forgotten all about. It opens your mind back up to a lot of potential."

Or lost potential, given some of the troubling literacy statistics in testing of local children. Librarians and educators in Multnomah County say they're confronting a literacy crisis that will constrain the futures of thousands of children in the Portland area. Consider: More than half of local third-graders cannot meet grade-level reading standards, according to the Oregon Department of Education.

Kids who have trouble learning to read, experts say, have a tough time transitioning to "reading to learn." And children who are not proficient readers are less likely to graduate from high school - Oregon ranks 48th nationwide in high school graduation rates - and face worse career prospects.

For Oliver, that's where the Library Foundation comes in. The privately funded nonprofit underwrites the Every Child a Reader program at Albina Head Start, the early learning program that two of his three granddaughters have attended. Each week, they've come home toting a bag of four new books, a font of fresh conversations and excitement. In a family in search of structure, the reading routine they've established has become a daily anchor. It has opened new bonds between them, and is giving the girls confidence in school, and Oliver in his new role.

"It helps us a tremendous amount," Oliver said. "The structure, the consistency. It keeps me motivated too. Now it's always, 'Pawpaw, Pawpaw, can we read now?'"

The foundation is one of 10 agencies selected for The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2018 Season of Sharing holiday fundraising campaign; this year's campaign focuses on education and literacy.

The Multnomah County Library system is already one of the busiest in the country, with one of the highest circulation rates in the country. The mission of the Library Foundation, established in 1995, is to expand that reach further. The nonprofit has five full-time and two part-time employees and spent approximately $2.5 million last year, two-thirds of which came from donations by individuals and small family foundations. The foundation's particular focus is programs that support early literacy and outreach to at-risk kids, a priority it established in 2003.

The Every Child A Reader program circulates more than 32,000 books in 17 languages through a weekly book exchange, for example. The books go out through Head Start sites, teen parent and immigrant programs, drug and alcohol rehab centers and home health professionals. This year, the foundation is experimenting with a jail program, teaching incarcerated parents the importance of reading to their children. It also supports events where librarians provide early literacy training, teaching simple strategies any parent can use.

"These professionals already have existing relationships. We come in and provide the books and the training," said Merris Sumrall, chief executive of the organization. "We help them take the library's programs much further with a relatively small amount of money."

Indeed, the foundation's $2.2 million in support for the Multnomah County Library is equivalent to about 2 percent of the library's budget in the year ended June 30, but programs it funded reached some 210,000 people. Rather than day-to-day library operations, it funds special programs and services.

The foundation helps fund the library's summer reading program, which reached 98 percent of elementary students in the county this year. It sends librarians and others into classrooms for "book talks" that inspire more reading, and helps fund workshops, author appearances and cultural programs like Everybody Reads.

Lucy Iraola, a bilingual youth librarian who coordinates the Every Child A Reader program, said the foundation's sponsorship of events is critical in establishing a connection to the library among immigrant families, who may never have had access to such a resource before. That goes beyond books to include computer and internet access, periodicals, movies, CDs, English classes - and the connection outlasts their kids' participation in early reading programs.

Iraola provides early literacy training to parents at foundation-sponsored events, and she says it's crucial to provide families with books in their native languages. That makes it easier for families to establish a reading routine, and debunks the notion that parents should avoid reading to their kids if they're not proficient in English. Providing kids with a solid basis in the language they speak at home makes it easier to acquire English, she said.

"We try to provide good-quality multicultural books. Sometimes those books are hard to find and chances are they're going to be more expensive," she said. "These families wouldn't be able to afford these books, and if it weren't for the foundation support, we wouldn't be able to provide them."

Angeles Becerril, who moved to the United States when she was 10, said her family speaks Spanish at home, and her son, Daniel, is now learning in both languages, expanding his vocabulary, learning his letters.

She said the Every Child A Reader program has delivered another benefit: calm. As a toddler, Daniel was always moving and anxious, she said. Putting him in front of a movie or TV didn't work - he couldn't seem to concentrate.

Reading did. "He's paying attention. He's more stable and talkative."

"It's every day, after dinner at 5:30 or 6," she said. "I do one or two books. It's helping me to develop my own reading skills."

"Mom," she said, mimicking him. "Don't forget my book."

What your donation can do:

$25: Provides a librarian-led bilingual storytime at outreach sites serving low-income families throughout the county

$35: Provides Every Child A Reader to one family for the year

$100: Purchases 17 books, one in each of the languages/cultures of children served by the year-round reading program

How to donate

Send checks to:

Season of Sharing

Oregonians Credit Union

336 N.E. 20th Ave.

Portland, OR 97232