March is National Reading Month, and the Rocket Community Fund is celebrating with a range of volunteering and fundraising opportunities for our team members that support educational and literacy-building efforts in our communities.
Helping Literacy Efforts for Children in Underserved Communities
Children in underserved communities often don’t have books to support their educational and emotional development. That’s why we partnered with Roonga to host our first-ever virtual book drive for team members.
Until March 18th, Rock Family of Companies team members can shop curated book lists virtually and donate books to support specific nonprofit organizations in each market. The Detroit Fundraiser benefits the Children’s Center, Phoenix books will go to Roosevelt School District, Cleveland supports Starting Point, and Charlotte will be directed to Promising Pages. All nonprofit beneficiaries were selected by our United Way affiliates in each market, as they have a deep understanding of which organizations were in dire need of educational resources that could best support the children in those communities.
This virtual book drive is an impactful way to make a difference on our most vulnerable populations and we are grateful to our nonprofit partners and our team members for their passion to support the futures of the youngest residents in our communities.
Team Members Read to Kids Through Virtual Volunteering
In addition to the bookdrive, the Rocket Community Fund has provided team members with opportunities to participate in literacy virtual volunteering. We partnered with Brilliant Detroit to create a virtual volunteer opportunity where Rock Family of Companies team members can record videos of themselves reading children’s books. Brilliant Detroit then shares these videos with children enrolled in their programs.
This fun program is quickly becoming one of our most beloved ongoing volunteer experiences. Some team members even brought their family members along to participate in this fun volunteer opportunity, like Rocket Central team member Noah Amos. Watch the video of Noah reading “Please, Baby Please” with his daughter, Harper, and you’ll see why this is such a popular volunteer experience for our team members!
Team Members’ Passion for Reading Translates onto Impact
The Rocket Community Fund also reached out to other team members who have signed up for volunteer opportunities in March due to their passion for National Reading Month. “I love National Reading Month because it is a celebration of a vastly underappreciated passion,” said Bedrock team member Emma Khoury. “Reading doesn’t just help broaden knowledge; it broadens horizons. I was introduced to ideas, cultures, and situations in literature that prepared me for real life encounters with that subject matter.” Emma is also a soon to be published author, and she hopes that her devotion to reading will inspire other young people to write.
As Emma expressed, reading is a pastime that allows readers to enter the perspectives of others and gives them a better understanding of the world and its people. “Reading allows me to escape into different worlds, different scenarios, and circumstances I may not ever experience in real life. Reading also helps me be more understanding of the world around me,” agreed Beenish Naeem-Wheaton, a Rocket Central team member.
By the Numbers: Our Virtual Book Drive Impact
Our team members stepped up to support National Reading Month by donating hundreds of books in just 12 days, totaling over $12,000 worth of reading material for children in underserved communities. We could not be prouder of their dedication to literacy efforts in our home cities. See how they made in impact in the graphic below.
It’s only through understanding the stories of others that we can empathize with and support the people who are living them. Perhaps that’s why National Reading Month feels especially meaningful – both to us and our team members – as we seek to better understand and support the stories of the people and the cities we call home.
Editor’s Note: This post was last updated on 4/11/22.