JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five hundred Jefferson City area elementary students will have new backpacks with three new books each as a result of a partnership between Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) (BSE: 507685) (NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company and First Book. First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that has delivered more than 170 million books and educational resources to programs and schools with children in need.
On November 8, Wipro volunteers came together for a backpack build to fill 500 backpacks with 1,500 books at the Wipro office in Jefferson City. On November 9 and 10, the backpacks will be delivered to the new Boys and Girls Club on Lafayette Street, and East Elementary School on McCarty Street for a reading celebration. These books will be used to facilitate reading circles with Wipro volunteers and help students build their home libraries.
This occasion marks the fifth Wipro volunteer engagement with East Elementary School. In 2015, Wipro partnered with First Book in Jefferson City to donate 5,000 books to East Elementary School.
Wipro’s presence in Jefferson City includes its hundreds of employees at the Infocrossing facility in Jefferson City. Every year, the company hosts a “Spirit of Wipro” Run for employees, customers, partners, and their families. This year, the event included a 10K, 5K, and 1K fun run for kids, music, games, and a fundraiser through First Book to allocate additional resources to the Jefferson City community.
“Wipro is committed to playing a role in enhancing access to books for children in the communities in which we operate,” said Anurag Behar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Wipro Limited. “Our Jefferson City-based employees have shown great leadership in supporting students’ educational journey and well-being.”
Since 2015, Wipro and First Book have worked together to distribute over 138,000 books throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a goal of distributing at least 200,000 books to children in need, as part of their three-year partnership.
Book ownership and a print-rich environment are leading indicators of a child’s educational success, but for the 32 million children growing up in low-income families in the U.S. alone, books are scarce. A recent study found that in one low-income neighborhood, there was only one book for more than 800 children, whereas in moderate income neighborhoods, there are 13 books for every one child.1
First Book, which has operations in both the U.S. and Canada, works with formal and informal educators serving children in need aged between 0-18 years in a wide range of settings – from schools, classrooms, summer school and parks and recreational programs, to health clinics, homeless shelters, faith-based programs, libraries, museums, summer food sites and more. The organization supports more than one in four of the 1.3 million classrooms and programs that are serving children in need in the U.S. alone.
“Access to books deeply affects a child’s ability to learn, and we are grateful that Wipro and its employees in Jefferson City and across the nation continue to support their local communities by spreading First Book’s mission of bringing the transformative power of books to children in need,” said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. “With the support and dedication of Wipro employees, tens of thousands of children can enjoy the power of reading and unlock their future.”
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About First Book
First Book transforms the lives of children in need. Through a sustainable, market-driven model, First Book is creating equal access to quality education — making everything from brand-new, high-quality books and educational resources to sports equipment and snacks affordable to its member network of more than 325,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need. Since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 170 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families in more than 30 countries. First Book currently reaches an average of 3 million children every year and supports more than one in four of the estimated 1.3 million educators serving children in need. With an additional 1,000 educators joining each week, First Book is the largest and fastest-growing network of educators in the United States exclusively serving kids in need. Eligible educators, librarians, providers, and others serving children in need can sign up at firstbook.org/register. For more information, please visit firstbook.org or follow the latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
About Wipro Limited
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) (BSE: 507685) (NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have over 160,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future.
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