Cherished Memories and Lifelong Impacts: Claire’s Day Celebrates 25 Years of Reading Excellence

May 16, 2026

By Sarah Mokri

It started by honoring 25 students. Those first 25 most improved readers, as nominated by their teachers, each received a Claire’s Award for Reading Excellence (C.A.R.E.). Twenty-five years later, Claire’s Day has grown into an annual, month-long literary celebration recognizing over 1,300 elementary school-aged children.

The impetus? A family’s drive to honor the memory of their daughter, Claire Rubini, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of ten. Brad and Julie Rubini were searching for a way to celebrate their young daughter’s life when Julie came across an article highlighting First Lady Laura Bush’s honorary role as chairwoman of a book festival. She knew then that this was exactly how she wanted Claire’s memory to live on.

For years, Julie threw herself into the minutiae of coordinating and planning the event, which was originally held exclusively at the Maumee Branch Library. By around 2016, she was ready to hand over some of the responsibilities, and Read for Literacy stepped in. Since then, the festival has expanded to include a Claire’s Day in Toledo and classroom visits with children’s book authors throughout the month of May.

All told, Claire’s Day and the C.A.R.E. awards have impacted thousands of children. At today’s event alone, teachers, authors, and families converged as over 600 children were recognized at the Maumee Library. A mid-day rain didn’t deter them from attending. As award winners, each student received a certificate of achievement and a voucher for a new book by a participating author or illustrator. Additionally, they had the opportunity to meet the creators and get their new books autographed.

Brad Rubini spoke about the profound impact of these books. “I have learned over the years that many of these kids in disadvantaged homes, the only thing that they took out of the home when they moved was their book,” Rubini said. “It’s cherished. It’s: they earned it. It’s their memories.”

Mr. Rubini discussed how parents of C.A.R.E. award winners—and former winners themselves—have shared testimonies about how the recognition changed the trajectory of their lives. He touched on the fact that C.A.R.E. recipients often have to work harder than children whose reading talents come naturally. “When you don’t read very well, you’re not in the box of 90% of the students, and it takes a lot of extra and takes a great teacher to do this.”

Claire’s Day takes place every year on the first Saturday of May in Toledo, and the third Saturday of May in Maumee.