Jahmal Lake ’98 Took Over the Children’s Reading Program His Mother Began

In 2019, Obiagele Lake founded the nonprofit Our Kids Read to help tackle one of the nation’s most urgent challenges: closing the literacy gap. The next year, as her mesothelioma progressed, she had a tough conversation with her son to ask if he would continue the nonprofit when she died.

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Courtesy of Jahmal Lake ’98

“My mom said, ‘Jahmal, I know you’re an IT guy. This is not your space, but I want you to take your inheritance and start this foundation and really get our babies reading,’” says Jahmal Lake ’98. He took over as the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit in 2020 and continues to carry its mission forward with the support of many Princetonians.

The program consists of meeting children where their interests are and pairing them with a reading buddy mentor. He compares it to Big Brothers Big Sisters, but with a literary focus. “We’re really seeing changes in behavior and in attitudes about reading, which is different from reading programs that are strictly about tutoring, where they become better readers but still don’t like to read.”

Data shows by fourth grade, 80% of children in underserved areas struggle to read, Lake says. “That’s why our mission targets children between 6 and 12 in these communities.” Our Kids Read has worked with more than 400 students and has donated 150,000 books to underserved children.

Lake acknowledges his lack of experience when he first took over and committed $50,000 of his inheritance to bolster the organization. He turned to people in his network — many of whom are Princeton alumni — to really help it thrive. “It’s been a tremendous learning curve for me, so I’ve had to surround myself with people that are deep in the literacy and education space, as well as the nonprofit space.”

This year, Lake was able to retire after 18 years at the U.S. Treasury Department and work for Our Kids Read full time. His wife supported his endeavors, as long as he could figure out a “practical” way forward. He recalls, “It wasn’t until this year when my job offered a package along with voluntary retirement. That’s when she said, ‘Clearly, this is the work that God has called you to do.’”

To date, more than 300 alumni have volunteered; their donations have totaled more than $1 million worth of books. Many alumni also play active roles in the organization including Karen Ali ’78, Kamil Ali-Jackson ’81, and Marquis Parker ’99, who serve on its board of directors. “It’s really a Tiger-led project,” Lake says.

Our Kids Read also receives support from the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS), and the Princeternship program. Additionally, several classes have partnered with the nonprofit during Reunions to create a service project. Last year, members of the classes of 1975 and 2010 and the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni hosted 50 fifth grade students on campus from Thomas Jefferson Intermediate School in Trenton. Students toured Princeton, participated in a storytelling event, and received free books to take home.

Without the support of fellow Tigers, Lake is not sure his vision for OKR would have been realized. “That’s really what gave me the confidence to step out on faith — not only the package from my former employer, but people rallying around and making me feel like I’m not in this by myself.”

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