The holiday season was a time of tremendous giving and three great organizations stepped up to spread some holiday spirit with Raising A Reader MA families. PAN Communications, Deloitte and the Tufts Health Sciences Campus Bookstore held successful book drives benefiting Raising A Reader MA. Not only would we like to extend our gratitude to the organizations and participants, but we thought what better way to spread holiday cheer than by hearing from the book drive organizers themselves!
After all, with so many worthy charities in the area, why pick Raising A Reader? Ani Jigarjian, Marketing and Outreach Director for PAN Communications, said “PAN Communications is a public relations firm, so we obviously produce a lot of content – a ton of writing is involved in our field. We feel very strongly about educating future generations, especially at the beginning of their lives, when it is so crucial. Many of us at the agency are also parents, and we know firsthand how important it is to read to your children early on in life, and the drastic impact it makes.” They eventually narrowed their options down to a list of literacy organizations and, “When we came across Raising A Reader MA and read more about their mission to focus on the reading habits of newborn to five year olds, we knew it was something special. We then read about the opportunity to host a book drive, and many of us were motivated to do more, so it was a no-brainer for us!” Ani said.
The folks at Deloitte also felt an important connection to the work that Raising A Reader MA undertakes. Lesley Russo from Deloitte put it simply, “I think most of us just can’t imagine growing up without books. Books can open up the whole world to a reader, and every child deserves that experience. Raising a Reader MA takes the support of early literacy beyond simple book donation, by also engaging and training the parents and educators. We’re thrilled for the opportunity to help instill children in our communities with a lifelong love of reading!”
This holiday season we are thankful to be both giving and receiving that holiday cheer. Raising A Reader MA continues to appreciate all the outstanding help from our greater Massachusetts community.