- May 18, 2025
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Felicia Donson saw her mother, Elaine Rothberg, every day.
She ate breakfast with her and volunteered in the community with her, and they both lived about five minutes away from one another.
Yet after the loss of Rothberg to cancer in February, this year marks Donson's Mother's Day without Rothberg.
Donson said while looking for somewhere positive to direct her sadness, she came up with an initiative, Mom's Book Nook, which she founded in early 2025.
“It truly was the best thing being able to see her every day... so there's nothing to replace that, but I wanted to turn it into something happy and positive that I knew she would be all in for,” she said.
She said although she hadn't intended to launch the organization close to Mother's Day, she hopes the occasion will be an opportunity for her to drive donations of books, which she provides in order to benefit children in the local community.
The initiative has its roots in a project that involved Donson and Rothberg helping to stock a classroom library.
Thus far, it has offered hundreds of books, Donson said, and continues to grow with support from the community.
She has been partnering with schools, nonprofits, and local programs to create reading spaces for kids, where children can either read on-site, or take the books home.
When she volunteered with her mother, much of the work was through Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where Rothberg had served as a nurse before her retirement.
“We were best friends,” Donson said. “We did everything, so we volunteered together.”
Donson said from there, they branched out and began helping multiple organizations, including Mayors Feed the Hungry and initiatives for kids.
Rothberg had a love for children, according to Donson.
After that, they volunteered with a close friend of Donson, Jeanette Schwead, who taught at Fruitville Elementary.
Schwead was in need of books for her classroom, so the mother and daughter helped establish a library. Afterward, Schwead had the kids write notes of appreciation.
Donson said the responses impacted her.
"They said they couldn't believe somebody would want to give them books, and how they just loved to be able to read..." she said. “It touched my heart how they just loved the book experience."
She said a waiting list grew for the books, and the two began to purchase more.
During the holidays, as well as at the end of the school year, kids would receive a book to keep, or to exchange with another kid.
One year, they also offered blankets with the books.
“They would just curl up with their blanket and read, and when things are hard at home, they had a book so they could get lost in the story," Donson said.
She said the loss of Rothberg in February impacted her "very hard," and she knew right away that she wanted to do something.
She ended up returning to the idea of books, as that was where she saw a need.
“There's so many kids who have no access to books, or in the summer, they have no reading materials, but they may want to read, … and it just seemed like the perfect fit," she said.
Donson gets her books from donations that include gift cards and direct donations, as well as from purchases she makes, which she tries to perform through organizations that donate the profits to charitable causes.
She performs research on what books she needs, taking input from Schwead, who offers her perspective as a former educator.
For her first donation, Donson reached out to Helene Lotman, president and CEO of Jewish Family & Children's Service of the Suncoast, who she knew from childhood.
She dropped off 250 books, also donating chairs and blankets for a reading space.
By April 22, she had donated 525 books.
Yet the mission continued, with her also giving to other organizations like Forty Carrots Family Center, Girls Inc., and SPARCC.
She hopes with each organization she visits, she'll be able to make a lasting impact, continually offering the books most needed, and allowing a full choice of items.
She says so far, the community has been receptive to her work.
“They said my mom would really be smiling down, that this is something she'd be thrilled with," she said.
