WE Day of Giving: Texas Style

This year, the entire agency shut down for our first ever agency wide WE Day of Giving. So, on December 5^th, the Austin, Texas office went back to school. We traveled to McBee Elementary in North Austin to help our long-time favorite nonprofit, BookSpring, immerse students in a beloved book series of theirs, Bink & Gollie. We transformed the library into scenes from the books for a pancake extravaganza to let students experience the fun instead of just listening to story time.

Here’s how it works: BookSpring provides access to quality, developmentally appropriate print and digital books to encourage a love of books for life. Many children helped by BookSpring have never had a book of their own at home, making the day they get their first book something they’ll never forget. 

In this case, the Bink & Gollie series captured the imaginations of students around the school. So, BookSpring and McBee Elementary Librarian Heather Stephens teamed up to give students a story experience to remember. 

With the designated volunteer hours WE gives its employees annually, we’re able to work with this life changing organization regularly. WE is about treating its employees as individuals. And that means fusing work experience with what matters to us personally. Having volunteered with BookSpring for the past three years, WE is quickly gaining recognition for our artistic abilities and are part of the “GT Group” – Gifted and Talented! We’ve done it all, from crafting a crazy mad scientist’s lab, to carving out a monster maze, and even reading to classrooms to educate them about the different holiday traditions around the world.

Bottom line: the confidence to read well sets a child up for success. BookSpring is making this possible one book at a time, and with storytelling at the core of what we do and feel most passionate about, WE is happy to be a part of such a stellar program.

Connect with the author, Caroline Sprague, on Twitter and LinkedIn.