An online fundraising campaign to support a planned children's bookstore in downtown Raleigh is ready for donations.

Christine Brenner, a former teacher and school librarian, launched the campaign Monday. Brenner announced last week that she plans to open Read With Me in March in a storefront on Hargett Street, about a block from Marbles Kids Museum.

Brenner's goal is to raise $50,000 in the next 30 days on the online crowdfunding platform, IndieGoGo.com. The money will help cover half of the expected cost to upfit the store's space, furnish it and fill it with books.

Supporters who donate to the IndieGoGo campaign can take advantage of perks - from a Read With Me bookmark to sponsorship of a bench or the store's creativity corner, depending on the amount they give. If Brenner reaches her $50,000 goal, she will donate 500 books to a local literacy non-profit that puts books in the hands and homes of children who need them.

"I want to to share my passion for children’s literature and the importance of early literacy," Brenner, a mom, tells me. "I envision Read With Me, A Children’s Book & Art Shop as a place where everyone is welcome and where visitors feel inspired to meet a new friend — real or imagined."

The shop won't just sell books. It also will host book clubs, illustration classes and more.

"We are all well aware of the importance of literacy for a child’s academic success," Brenner tells me. "Our name, Read With Me, highlights the No. 1 way to encourage your child to value reading: by reading 'with' rather than 'to' your child. Reading should be a shared, engaging experience between adult and child that is an open interaction of sharing thoughts and asking questions."