Enduring Families Project: Children's Stories
Giving Tuesday · December 1, 2026

Stories that were nearly lost. Children who need to hear them.

The Enduring Families Project recovers the African American history of the Coulee Region and puts it in the hands of young readers. This Giving Tuesday, December 1, help us reach more classrooms.

Count me in
A smiling girl lies on the grass with a book, beside a row of children reading together in the sunshine

"Every child should see the whole tree.

First a few twigs. Then branches. Then the shape of the tree."

Rebecca, Co-founder

Historical research can feel like wandering through a forest. At first you find only a few twigs. Gradually the twigs lead to branches, and eventually enough branches connect that you begin to see the shape of the tree.

For years, the stories of the La Crosse area's early African American residents were scattered twigs: a census line, a newspaper notice, a name on a note card. We have spent years connecting them.

Children of color need to see people who look like them in the history of the place they live. All children need to know that their community's story is larger than a single story.

The giants whose shoulders they stand on

When children learn these names, they recognize the giants who came before them, and see that they are connected to the shoulders they stand on.

George Edwin Taylor
Arrived in La Crosse as a child and, in 1904, became the first Black man to run for President of the United States.
Watch his monologue
Nathan and Sarah Smith
Formerly enslaved, they made a home in West Salem and took in young George.
Watch Nathan's monologue
Lydia Moss
A La Crosse barber whose shop still inspires children to say, "I wanna be a barber like Mrs. Moss."
Watch her monologue
Lillian Smith Davenport
A La Crosse girl who loved the music at the parties her family catered, and grew up to be a vaudeville and jazz singer.
Watch her monologue

From the archive to the classroom

Children's stories

Books about real people from our region's past, including "A Long Way to Find a Home" and "Lifting as We Rise."

Classroom resources

Primary documents, lesson plans and presentations, so students do more than read history. They investigate it.

Performances and videos

Original monologues that bring early residents to life, watched online by more than 10,000 visitors. Watch the monologue videos.

Already in local classrooms

For our first book, "A Long Way to Find a Home," EFP printed 1,000 storybooks and 6,000 coloring books, free to schools, libraries and community centers. Educators in five regional school districts received free classroom materials after joining our professional development sessions.

1,000storybooks
6,000coloring books
5school districts
Rebecca, EFP co-founder
A word from our co-founder
Rebecca
"History is not only about the past. It can help people understand themselves, recognize one another, and feel that they belong in the story of a community."
Our goal by December 1
$10,000
to print and distribute our second book and its classroom materials.

What your gift does

Our second book, the story of the 19th-century African American women's movement, is ready for printing. The research is complete. The story is written. What stands between this story and thousands of children is funding.

A gift does more than buy a single book. Classroom sets are used year after year, libraries lend them to generation after generation of families, and teachers reuse the lessons and primary documents. Gifts are received through our fiscal sponsor, the La Crosse County Historical Society.

Remind me on December 1

Every gift counts

$10
gives 3 free coloring books to children in the community.
$50
secures a professional development event for teachers.
$100
ensures a public reading event.

Count me in

Join our list and we'll send you the stories behind the stories, free resources for teachers and families, and a reminder when Giving Tuesday arrives.

After you sign up, watch for an email from the Enduring Families Project. If you don't see it, please check your spam or promotions folder.

We send a few emails a month. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Not ready to give? You can still help.

Share

Share this page with a teacher, a parent or a neighbor.

Invite

Invite EFP to present at your school, library or community group. Send us a message.

Follow

Follow along and pass our stories on. Find us on Facebook.

Three performers in period work clothes and hats stand on a farm path holding a shovel and hoes

Our partners

Thank you to the schools, libraries, archives and community organizations who help us recover these stories and bring them to children.

Schools

  • West Salem Public School District
  • Onalaska Public School District
  • Holmen Public School District
  • Viroqua Public Schools
  • Tomah Montessori School
  • La Crosse Hamilton
  • La Crosse Northside Elementary

Colleges

  • UW–La Crosse Education Department
  • Western Technical College

Historical societies

  • La Crosse County Historical Society
  • West Salem Historical Society
  • Viroqua Historical Society
  • Wisconsin Historical Society

Archives and libraries

  • UW–L Murphy Library Special Collections and ARC
  • La Crosse Public Library Archives
  • Alton Public Library Archives (IL)
  • La Crosse Public Library
  • Onalaska Public Library
  • Holmen Public Library

Community

  • BLACK
  • Hope Restores
  • La Crosse Parks and Recreation
  • Juneteenth and August Ball
  • Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration
  • Herb Kohl Philanthropies
  • Greater La Crosse Area Diversity Council
  • La Crosse Public Education Association
  • La Crosse Area Community Foundation
  • La Crosse Heritage Foundation
  • La Crosse AAUW
  • La Crosse Area Retired Teachers Association