Company/Team Qualifications
Brent Johnstone
Akeiff Staples
Brent Johnstone and Akeiff Staples are former Temple University football teammates, longtime friends, and the co-founders of FathersRead365. In 2017, they recognized an urgent need — to strengthen early literacy, expand access to books, and inspire fathers and caregivers to become more active participants in their children's learning. Their shared commitment has grown into a father-focused, family-centered movement rooted in one powerful belief: reading is one of the most transformative ways to build connection, confidence, and opportunity.
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FathersRead365 offers compassionate, nonjudgmental, and inclusive literacy programming that equips parents and caregivers with practical tools — making reading engaging, meaningful, and consistent from before children enter school and throughout their entire educational journey. Our leadership team brings lived experience, deep community relationships, program development expertise, and years of hands-on service to children and families.
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Since its founding, FathersRead365 has donated more than 375,000 books and engaged over 75,000 families through literacy programs, community events, school partnerships, book distributions, parent-engagement initiatives, and read-aloud experiences. Our work is designed not only to place books in homes, but to help families build lasting reading routines, strengthen relationships, and create personal home libraries that support lifelong learning.
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The organization's leadership and impact have earned widespread recognition. In 2019, FathersRead365 received the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Award for Parent Engagement from the Social Innovations Journal. In 2023, co-founders Brent Johnstone and Akeiff Staples were inducted into the Media Area NAACP Spirit Hall of Fame, received the Gerald Wright Fatherhood Award from the Father's Day Rally Committee, and were named KYW Newsradio GameChangers. In 2025, they were honored by Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes as two of Philadelphia's "100 Men Making a Difference."
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FathersRead365's story and mission are also featured in the documentary Reading Is Love, available on Amazon Prime Video — a film that explores the power of fathers, families, and communities using reading to build stronger bonds, create positive childhood experiences, and help young people develop the confidence and skills to thrive.
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Fathers Read 365 Foundation, Inc. was formally established in October 2025 as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Foundation is also recognized as a 509(a)(2) public charity, files Form 990, and provides donors with a tax-deductible charitable giving option to the extent permitted by law. Federal Tax ID (EIN): 39-4716811.
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Guided by the belief that #ReadingIsLOVE, FathersRead365 continues to advocate for literacy from birth and create welcoming opportunities for fathers, mothers, caregivers, educators, volunteers, and community partners to support children together. Our goal is simple but far-reaching: to make reading engaging, accessible, and lifelong — helping families and communities flourish, one book at a time.
Mission
Father focused. Family centered.
FathersRead365 advocates for literacy from birth through a non-judgemental, shame-free, and inclusive approach to father and family engagement. Using research-based best practices, we provide resources that equip fathers and caregivers to read daily with their young children because #ReadingIsLOVE.
#1MillionDadsReading
Starting in early childhood, fathers can have a deep influence on the development of children's early learning skills and academic achievement. Positive early interactions, such as father-infant play, may help improve a child's social skills and stimulate cognitive competence during this crucial time when children are just learning to interact with the world around them.
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FathersRead365 wants fathers/caregivers to become a more reliable and consistent reading resource to the community. Annually, the goal is to have at least one million men utilize the hashtag #1MillionDadsReading by posting a picture or video of storytime's with children on their social media platforms.
*PARENTS & CAREGIVERS*
*PLEASE VIEW*
Active Reading Training Video
FR365 Book Bus
Although low-income children have, on average, four children’s books in their homes, a team of researchers concluded that nearly two-thirds—or 61 percent of the low-income families they studied—owned no books for their children
(US Department of Education, 1996).
