About Us

We began in 2009 as QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia with a simple idea: give children in rural, underserved communities joyful experiences that promote a lifetime sport and healthy eating and build the character traits that matter -- confidence, determination, dedication and sportsmanship. What started as two tennis‑based physical activity and nutrition education initiatives, Jump Start QuickStart and Go Bananas for QuickStart!, evolved into a statewide early‑literacy movement.

 

In 2014, we first issued our literacy-themed Go Bananas! card: "WHY do tennis players like to read?"

That playful question increased our interest in reading and school readiness.

 

A Statewide Literacy Movement Emerges
 

During COVID, we became one of Virginia’s highest‑volume book‑gifting organizations, supporting 30 school systems and more than 10,000 preschoolers and kindergartners through Racquets for Reading!!!. That work led us to discover Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) — then just 23 scattered programs with 13,700 kids enrolled as of November 2020.

 

We began launching new DPIL programs across our original 28-county service area in April 2021, then worked with state leaders to secure a Virginia Budget Amendment (June 2022) to fund half the cost of books and postage for every child under five in the Commonwealth.

 

From there, we went statewide. — west, then east — helping communities build local programs and sustainable literacy coalitions.

 

Today, more than 100,000 children receive books from 100 DPIL programs. Virginia is on track to become a fully covered state with 400,000 children eligible to receive a high-quality, age-appropriate book each month, at no cost to families.

We built a tennis pathway in central Virginia. Now we're building a statewide "reading pathway."

​

A New Name for an Expanded Mission 
 

In 2024, relocation to Williamsburg and our statewide focus on early literacy made a name change  necessary. We became to QuickStart Children of Virginia — but we're still QCV for short.

​

Learn More

​

Read our latest Annual Report and 990 EZ.

Meet our Board of Volunteers. 

​