Mayor Donna Deegan talks with a child on board the River City Readers bookmobile. | City of Jacksonville
Published on July 16, 2025 at 3:38 pm
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Gate Petroleum has donated $1 million to the River City Readers Initiative, a program established by Mayor Donna Deegan to foster literacy.
The funding will ensure that the youth program can send a free book each month to every 4-year-old in the city, Deegan said Wednesday.
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Former Mayor John Peyton, president of Gate, joined Deegan on Wednesday morning to announce the gift, which also revives Mayor Peyton’s Book Club, which he started almost 20 years ago during his term.
The monthly delivery of free books is designed to foster a lifelong love of reading and strengthen school readiness. The Mayor’s Book Club — renamed from Mayor Peyton’s Book Club — now joins Deegan’s River City Readers Initiative.
“Here we are 20 years later, and we are blessed to have a mayor that is equally if not more committed than we were to this concept of really starting earlier and getting kids engaged early, so you can learn to read up to third grade,” Peyton said. “Then from third grade on you read to learn, and we want to make sure everyone makes that critical transition, because that’s how you get the future you dream about.”
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The River City Readers Initiative was launched in early 2024. It lets children and their caregivers log their reading minutes with a goal of at least 20 minutes per day. It also has a bookmobile that visits neighborhoods throughout Jacksonville to bring books to students.
In the past year and half, children have logged almost 3 million minutes of reading citywide.
Deegan and others said the Mayor’s Book Club is designed to remain a lasting program for future city leaders to sustain.
“When John launched his book club nearly two decades ago, he planted a powerful seed,” Deegan said. “Today, we’re helping that seed grow into something extraordinary — fueling imagination, curiosity and literacy for thousands of children across Jacksonville.”
For information, go to jacksonville.gov/rivercityreaders.
