On your marks, get set, walk!

Always Giving

Feature

Visit any Penguin or DK office around the globe, and you'll find a network of people doing great things for worthy causes. Whether it's a company-wide venture like the Penguin walk or an individual raising money for a charity that's close to their heart, there's a real commitment across the group to doing good. As we all know, Christmas is a time for giving, so there's really no better time than this to bring cheer into the hearts and take a look back at the charitable highlights of 2011.

Walking All Over The World

This year, for the fourth year running, staff from across the globe joined forces to raise money for a number of worthy causes at the company's global charity event of the year — the Penguin walk. The event, which began in the UK in 2008, has grown massively, from 400 walkers in its first year to over a thousand in 2011. Collectively, we've raised a huge amount since the event started and this year was no different, with an impressive £30k being donated to a number of local beneficiaries. Read on to see where the money has gone:

Penguin South Africa deliver new cookers to the community of Majaneng.

Penguin South Africa chose to pool their funds to help families in the impoverished community of Majaneng near Pretoria North. They donated some Wonderbags — heat retaining cookers that simultaneously cook great meals and save energy — which they hope, will ensure that the families of Majaneng have hot meals during the cold months. Staff delivered the Wonderbags in person, setting the recipients up for the winter with some fabulous cooking demonstrations.

Walkers in the US raised money for local literacy organization 826NYC — a nonprofit dedicated to supporting students aged 6-18 with their creative writing skills — and in the UK, money went to Room to Read — a charity that does amazing work across the world to bring books, libraries and sponsorship to some of the poorest children in the developing world. The Penguin China team donated funds to The Library Project, an organisation that donates books and libraries to under financed schools and orphanages across China in an attempt to break the cycle of poverty that exists in the region.

It wasn't just humanitarian charities that benefited though, as staff in Canada and the Southern hemisphere rallied together in support of the environment. Penguin Canada raised cash for World Wildlife Fund Canada, New Zealand collected for Project Kiwi and staff in Australia donated to Conservation Volunteers Australia— the company's green charity.

Climb Every Mountain

Not only did Penguin UK raise money for Room to Read by walking around London's Royal parks, they went quite a few steps further… 9 members of staff from across Penguin and DK teamed up with the charity to embark on the challenge of a lifetime and trek to Everest Base Camp. In the 18 days it took to trek to the base of the world's highest mountain, the courageous team battled with altitude sickness, temperatures of -40 degrees and mouse-ridden accommodation, but despite the odds they all successfully conquered the 5,364m to reach base camp. On the final day of their trip, the team was taken to visit one of the Room to Read schools that will be receiving a percentage of the money raised. Here's what they had to say:

“It was a truly inspiring visit to see a thriving school with an all-female staff, especially in a country where girls are largely uneducated. Amidst the beautiful Nepalese countryside and with excited and enthusiastic children, it was sobering to learn that 50% of their parents are illiterate and the teachers themselves had sacrificed a month's salary to build the library. This totally put our small sacrifices into perspective.”

Reaching new heights in the Himalayas

Freshly back from their trip, the team is well on its way to achieving its fundraising goal of £50k with the total currently sitting at £43k. This money will go a long way in providing much needed education opportunities and in turn a more hopeful and optimistic future for hundreds of children. You can read the full blog here.

The EBC team are: Deborah Wright, Deborah Stansfield, Alison Nuttall, Fiona Price, Fiona Vance, Pauline Keating, Sara Granger, Hermoine Lawton and Linda Currie.

Read Pink

For the second year running in the US Penguin has shown its support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), launching eight special edition mass market titles by some of their best-loved female authors including Amanda Quick, Lynn Kurland, Catherine Anderson and Nora Roberts as part of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Read Pink campaign. All of the special edition book covers featured the instantly recognisable Read Pink^TM seal as well as containing, in the back of each book, information about Penguin's support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation's mission and detail on how readers can become actively involved in supporting the organisation.

The campaign involved a great deal of hard work from the dedicated sales, marketing and publicity teams who, in a bid to raise awareness and bring more attention to this important cause, pushed the campaign across a range of sales and distribution channels and the national press, getting pick-up in USA Today, Publisher's Weekly and across the internet.

And as if all that wasn't enough, Penguin US has also made a $25,000 donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The donation will provide vital funds to support the foundation's mission to carry out valuable research and raise awareness.

Back To School

Staff on both sides of the Atlantic have been giving up their time each week to help young children improve their reading. In the UK, Penguin and DK (as part of Pearson) have teamed up with Booktrust, the independent reading charity, to run a programme called Booktime which encourages children, parents and carers to read together for pleasure. It works in two ways — firstly, by giving a free book pack to every child starting primary school (this year, every reception pupil in the UK received a copy of Why Elephant has a Trunk from the Tinga Tinga Tales series, published by Puffin), and secondly, by encouraging volunteers to spend one hour per week in a local school reading, playing games and conversing with pupils aged between five and 11, to improve their literacy and confidence. The Booktime scheme is hugely successful — in 2010 we donated our five millionth book pack, and this year there are 43 Penguin volunteers all donating their time (over two terms, that totals around 1000 hours!) to the reading scheme.

Booktime

Here's what some of the other volunteers have to say:

“I've read with two lovely girls, both of whom were struggling because of language skills and a lack of attention and support at home. Our half an hour was often the only one-on-one reading they did with an adult in a given week. During the time I spent with them, it was amazing to see them flourish, not only in terms of reading ability but also in confidence.” Rebecca Sinclair, Communications Director

“There is nothing more important than helping kids to read, and even if you meet with some resistance at times, the pleasure they get from succeeding where before they had failed is wonderful to witness.” Joanna Prior, MD, Penguin General

In the US, 46 volunteers are signed up to a literacy-based mentoring programme called Power Lunch, which pairs staff with children in nearby elementary schools for weekly one-to-one lunchtime reading sessions. As well as providing a great opportunity for employees to share lunch, conversation and a good book with a child in the local neighborhood, Penguin US contributes $5,000 a year towards the programme.

Read For The Record

This year Jumpstart's Read for the Record Campaign was bigger than ever, as more than two million people across America simultaneously read Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, published by Viking Children's Books. The campaign raises awareness about the importance of early education and the long-term benefits of reading to children at an early age and the goal is to put more books into the hands and homes of children who need them. Since 2006, more than seven million people have joined local Read for the Record reading celebrations; Jumpstart has raised more than $6 million to support their year-round work in preschools; and the Pearson Foundation has donated nearly one million books to local schools, libraries, and community organizations in conjunction with the annual campaign.

Record breakers

This year We Give Books, the digital reading initiative from the Pearson Foundation and Penguin, offered a new way to take part in the campaign by allowing anyone with access to the Internet (be it via a PC, a tablet or a mobile device) to read Llama Llama for free. In a change to previous campaigns, all readers of the digital book were counted as part of a new record for the most people reading a digital book on a single day. The campaign also, once again, set the record for the most people reading the same physical book on the same day. Penguin employees at the New York office joined the scores of readers at an event at the Educational Alliance on Broadway, where they read to the children and got all crafty with activities based around the book.

The campaign kicked off Jumpstart's yearlong programme, which helps to prepare preschool children in low-income neighborhoods for success in school and life. Penguin supports Jumpstart throughout the year by arranging for some of its major bestselling authors to attend local fund-raising events across the US.

Charity Begins At Home

All across the globe, employees have been rallying to raise funds for charities close to home. In Australia, staff have been supporting The Indigenous Literary Foundation which works to raise literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Australians living in remote and isolated regions.

Penguin Canada has been trying to bring sunshine into people's lives this autumn, by collecting food, clothing and toy donations for underprivileged children. Parcels are delivered by the Salvation Army via the aptly named Angel Tree — an online adoption scheme whereby companies can send gifts to individuals or groups of children.

In South Africa colleagues have been donating a variety of items, from facecloths to deodorant, in aid of POWAR's Handbag Project. POWAR — Protection of Women Against Rape — is an organisation helping to set up refuge centres around South Africa for survivors of rape and other forms of abuse. The Handbag Project involves people donating new or used handbags containing ‘comfort items’ aimed at assisting victims as they go through the harrowing process of reporting their ordeal. The thought behind the project is that by donating items such as toiletries and clothing — as well as, most importantly, a letter with a few words of encouragement to the victim — POWAR can help to make each victim feel a little better. This year, Penguin staff donated 20 kitted-out handbags towards the project.

Throughout 2011 many places across the globe have been affected by natural disasters, and in September, Tropical Storm Lee swept the southern states of America causing terrible flooding in the towns of Kirkwood and Pittston where Penguin has warehouses. Penguin offered financial support to 40 employees who work out of both locations and, in addition, staff rallied together to make individual contributions to help their colleagues. All donations were matched by Pearson.

And in the UK, for the second year running, Penguin joined the nation in supporting The Royal British Legion's charity work through the Poppy Appeal, by collecting donations from commuters traveling through the local tube stations. 30 volunteers raised over £2000 which will go towards helping all generations of the Armed Forces and their families.

Applaud Penguin volunteers around the world on NEO!