When a Natchez public school teacher reached out to Dixon Books asking for 151 copies of Animal Farm, bookstore owner Jennifer Boone didn’t just see an invoice, she saw a barrier. She knew the school didn’t have a budget for extra books, and that many students would struggle to buy their own copies.
“I thought, public schools don’t have money for this, and students shouldn’t have to choose between a book and something else they need,” she recalled. That moment crystallized an idea she’d been carrying for years: using her love of books to make reading more accessible to young people in her community.
The result is Vicki’s Books for Kids Fund at the Community Foundation for Mississippi, named in honor of her late mother, Vicki, a tireless advocate for literacy. Vicki volunteered in Hattiesburg at Palmer’s Crossing, in public schools and with adult literacy efforts. She believed that reading was more than a skill, it was a kind of power.
Before the pandemic, Jennifer found her own way of carrying that legacy, reading with third graders at Stewpot’s after-school program twice a week. “Reading empowers kids,” she said. “And holding a new book that is theirs, that has never been anybody else’s, gives them a sense of ownership and belonging. Books were almost like a security blanket to me. If I’m surrounded by them, I’m happy.”
So when the downstairs tenant moved out of the historic building her family owns with two business partners in downtown Natchez, Jennifer couldn’t get one picture out of her head: a bookstore filling the empty space. That vision became Dixon Books, which has quickly drawn both locals and tourists who pass through Natchez each year. Visitors from Mississippi River cruises wander in, eager for local stories and history, exactly the kinds of titles Jennifer is working to gather in one place.
Amid the bustle of running the shop, opportunities to give back kept appearing. There was the teacher’s bulk order, and even a simple ordering mistake – accidentally receiving 42 extra copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Party Pooper – that Jennifer chose to turn into a classroom donation. Those moments convinced her that the bookstore could be more than a business, it could be a bridge between generous donors, eager readers and classrooms in need.
Through Vicki’s Books for Kids Fund, Jennifer now has a way to honor her mother’s memory and support Natchez for years to come. Working with the Community Foundation for Mississippi, she envisions helping teachers, schools and child-focused programs put brand-new books into the hands of young readers, sometimes one classroom at a time or through larger initiatives as the fund grows.
“I don’t know exactly what it will look like yet,” Jennifer admits. “But I know this: kids having their own books matters. And this is a way to keep my mom’s spirit alive in the world.”