Turning Pages into Possibility
As a child, Jeni Grasman Stamas ’96 fell in love with reading during the nightly ritual she shared with her mom, Ann. Together, they paged through picture book classics such as Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham, stories that opened space for imagination. “Books gave me the ability to dream and wonder,” Stamas says.
Chasing A Dream
By the time she reached Calvin, Stamas dreamed of becoming a mechanical engineer. Two years in, Professor Bob Hoeksema noticed something was wrong and asked if she was happy. “I wasn’t,” she says.
Hoeksema helped Stamas develop an interdisciplinary major blending engineering and marketing that launched her early career as a marketer for engineering firms in Atlanta, Georgia. Decades later, she bumped into Professor Hoeksema at an event they both attended and was reminded of the care he had taken to mentor her. “He still remembered me,” she marvels.
Pay It Forward
As a mom, Stamas shared her childhood love of reading with her two children, but that passion soon extended beyond her home. A longtime volunteer, she was recently named a FOX 17 and Lake Michigan Credit Union Pay It Forward Person of the Month for upcycling gently used books and distributing them to nonprofits serving children and families.
The effort began eight years ago, when she saw a Facebook post claiming a local library planned to toss surplus books into the PaperGator. Curious—and unwilling to imagine good books discarded—she reached out. The rumor proved false, but the conversation sparked a partnership with the Friends of Cascade Library and children’s book curator MaryAnne Lane that continues today.
Literacy Matters
For her first pickup, Stamas loaded a few hundred titles into the back of her minivan and brought them to In the Image, a free store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, offering essential items to families in need. When the nonprofit began reaching capacity for her donations, Stamas built partnerships with other organizations, including schools. To date, she has distributed over 11,000 books in Kent and Newaygo Counties.
Stamas is committed to lowering barriers to literacy. “We know literacy plays a critical role in a child’s success, both in school and later in life. When access to books isn’t equal, especially for children living in poverty, even small efforts can make a meaningful difference.”
She explains how books teach kids important values, too. “A book can say what we adults don’t always have the opportunity to say to a child: it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s good to ask questions.”
One Good Deed
Stamas humbly compares her volunteerism to “one pebble in a pond,” believing that ordinary people like her can take small steps to create a broad impact for good.
Wherever she goes, she keeps a small bag of books in her van—sometimes sharing one with a young friend or stopping to refill a “Little Free Library” that catches her eye.
When she is not sharing her love of story with her community, Stamas works as the coordinator of events and experiences for the Just Between Friends franchise system, a national children’s consignment platform with a mission to support families and promote sustainability. She is also passionate about being a wife and mom, traveling, and, of course, reading.