Every reader starts somewhere. Every leader starts as a reader.
See what we buildThe Lewis Educational Enrichment Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity serving young people in Arizona's East Valley and beyond. We believe reading is where confidence begins, giving is where character forms, and leadership is something students practice — not something they wait for.
Three programs carry that belief: a year-round literacy initiative where readers earn their way up, a seasonal giving campaign that puts books and warmth in children's hands, and a speaker series that seats students at the table with accomplished leaders. Behind all three, a student internship program turns service into verifiable work experience for the next generation of community leaders.
Start the reader. Grow the reader. Grow the leader. Each LEEF program takes a young person one stage further.
1Start the reader
Every pink was once gray. Every gray has pink in it.
Flamingos are born gray and earn their pink through what they eat. Readers grow the same way. Gray2Pink is a year-round earned-achievement program where children climb a five-tier reading ladder — Gray to Blush to Coral to Crimson to Flamingo — with book vending machine access waiting at the top. Reading volume becomes visible progress, and progress becomes pride.
2Grow the reader
Warm feet. Open books. Bright futures.
Each October through January, Slippers for Stories delivers slippers and books to the students who need them most. A gift today becomes a reading habit tomorrow — and confident readers grow into the leaders who inspire the next child. Schools, businesses, and families join as collection partners every season.
3Grow the leader
Open the door. Build connections. Lead with confidence.
A leadership speaker series at the historic Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, where high school students share a table with accomplished leaders, hear a leader's life story told plainly, practice professional networking, and step up to the podium themselves. LEEF serves as the series' founding sponsor.
LEEF interns don't shadow — they run campaigns, manage drives, produce events, and steward donors across all three programs. Every duty line is verifiable through a LEEF supervisor, and every completed internship becomes résumé experience an employer can call and confirm.
Choose a home — Gray2Pink, Slippers for Stories, Brown Bag Supper, or the foundation itself — and a department that fits your talent.
One full semester in good standing, doing real work with measurable output. That record is what unlocks everything after it.
Completed interns become eligible for leadership roles across LEEF — up to Chief of Staff, the foundation's earned capstone title.
LEEF operates in the open. Donors, grantmakers, and partners are welcome to verify everything below, and our IRS determination letter is available on request.
Lewis Educational Enrichment Foundation, Inc.
501(c)(3) public charity, exempt since April 1, 2025
33-4743971
Form 990 series, filed with the IRS each year
Dr. Matt Lewis, PsyD
Kevin Musser, Dr. Kevin Cressey, Dr. Steven Sherman, and Brandon J. Larson, CMAA — meet the board
Friends of LEEF is our annual membership community, starting at $25 a year, with 100% of every gift reaching the mission. High school interns run all three programs — so every dollar serves the children in the programs and trains the young leaders operating them.
Join Friends of LEEFContributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. EIN 33-4743971.