Gabby Colley is a fifth grader at Snowville Elementary School. As a fifth grader she has been choosing a Reading is Fundamental book since kindergarten.
Snowville was added to the list of Woman’s Club RIF schools in 2019.
“I always look forward to it,” she commented. “The ladies are there to help us find
the books.”
Gabby loves to read. Fiction and fantasy books are her favorite topics. She has read all the Harry Potter books. Other favorites are Pages and Co., by Anna James, a series which focuses “on the magic of books and the power of the imagination.” She also likes The Land of Stories, which are fiction adventure fantasies with a fairy tale theme.
Her younger sister, who is in first grade, also chooses a RIF book twice a year and she is the recipient of Gabby’s outgrown books. Gabby wants to be a teacher when she is grown-up because she thinks “how much fun it is to make lesson plans.”
Kendall Colley, her mother, is a Special Education teacher at Snowville.
“The RIF program is great for kids who don’t get to go to the library,” said Colley. “For Gabby, a reader who loves books, at the last RIF she had the opportunity to try something different.”
The Woman’s Club of Radford’s mission is the promotion of children’s literacy. Through Reading is Fundamental books are given twice a year to children at McHarg, Riverlawn and Snowville Elementary schools. Dublin Elementary, Pre-K through second grade, was added in 2025. Babies into Books and RIF at Head Start in Radford, Pulaski and New River Community College have allowed us to reach much younger children.
Our work is supported through fundraising, primarily by our letter campaign which began in November. As in everything, the prices of books continue to rise due to inflation and tariffs, and we and the children are very appreciative of our donors.
The Woman’s Club participated in craft fairs in November at Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg and in December at Radford’s Glencoe Mansion. The purpose of this participation was twofold: fundraising through the sale of member- made baked goods and crafts and increasing community awareness of our work with children’s literacy.
We are always hopeful that piquing community interest will inspire interest in becoming a member of the Woman’s Club. Although the name says “of Radford” we have members from Christiansburg, Pulaski, and Dublin as well as Radford. We welcome our newest member, Nancy Pugh. Our meetings are open to the public.
Woman’s Club of Radford
