Nine little girls’ lives were changed forever through the love of one mentor. Hear their stories and learn practical tips on how make a significant difference in someone’s life.

Dot Powell is the author of My Home Town, a Fairy Tale of Two Cities, a book in rhyme about the magic of reading to children. After her retirement as an elementary school principal, Dot served as Executive Director of the nonprofit, READFresno, which focused on community-wide literacy in a region of high poverty and illiteracy. Seeing the dire consequences in the lives of non-readers and the “hometown hardships” due to the lack of reading, she recruited hundreds of volunteers to read to young students. The Every Neighborhood Partnership now includes this effort (READFresno) in their curriculum, encouraging college students to read to children. Dot’s second book My Home Town Hero, Wilbur Plaugher – Great American Cowboy, tells the story of her local treasure, an award winning rodeo clown, who performed for decades across the USA and around the world. Dot also served as co-founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit magazine, SALT Fresno, based on the words of Jesus, “You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.” Matthew 5:13-16. Her purpose for the magazine was to inspire Christ-followers to go public with their faith through good deeds. Later she helped found the Central California Christian writer’s critique group, Twinklings. A native of Kentucky, Dot moved to California in 1970. She and her husband of 5 years live in Fresno, California, where she spent more than three decades in education with the Fresno Unified School District. She now splits her time between writing and adoring her four grandchildren.