Regions: U.S.
Our Partnership with One Tree Planted
We care deeply about the planet and creating a business that gives back to nature. In 2022 we partnered with One Tree Planted, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to global reforestation that plants trees to restore nature and biodiversity. As part of this partnership, for every new employee that joins PRH U.S., we donate to have a tree planted in their honor. We also celebrate career milestones by donating to have the corresponding number of trees planted for the number of years worked in five-year increments. To learn more about One Tree Planted, click here.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Visit P.S. 123 in Harlem
PRH Authors Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, joined NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter on a visit to P.S. 123, a community school in Harlem that provides wraparound services to students through their partnership with Graham Windham, a nonprofit in New York City that provides youth and family service programs.
The Duke and Duchess donated two garden boxes filled with vegetables and herbs to help support a growing need in the community for easy access to fresh and healthy food. Their impact-driven nonprofit, the Archewell Foundation, worked with partner Proctor & Gamble to stock P.S. 123’s pantry with free-of-cost products to help families take care of their personal health and hygiene and create clean and healthy homes. The Duchess of Sussex donated reading nooks to many Graham Windham locations in New York City, to support families’ access to books and facilitate bonding opportunities for parents and children.
Launching a New Donation Platform for the 1619 Project
Ahead of the publication of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story on November 16, 2021, One World, an imprint of Random House, partnered with Bookshop.org, the ethical online marketplace which supports independent bookstores. The expanded book version of the 1619 Project – one of the most significant journalistic events of recent years by Nikole Hannah-Jones that places slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative – provides readers with the definitive account of how racism and Black resistance have shaped the nation.
Independent bookstores across the U.S. have identified local organizations such as schools, libraries, and book banks that will benefit from donated copies of this momentous book.Through Bookshop.org, customers can support local bookstores and communities directly, as well as through We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit organization that distributes books to low-income classrooms, educators, and organizations across the country. Over 15 percent of the participating independent bookstores are Black-owned and managed, with many playing a significant role in their local communities. This partnership will allow them to continue supporting their communities by making the stories of The 1619 Project widely accessible. The initiative runs through January 31, 2022.
For more information on The 1619 Project and Nikole Hannah-Jones, visit 1619Books.com
Building Libraries with Harlem Grown
This past October, we began partnering with Harlem Grown , a remarkable organization serving the children of Harlem by offering resources, inspiration, and a safe place where they can just be kids. In partnership with Grandma’s Place and supported by Humans of New York’s fundraising efforts, Harlem Grown is now building twelve libraries on their urban farms across the community. To support this community-based organization, we are curating and stocking these libraries with a commitment of more than 10,000 books a year. It’s imperative that children have access to stories that uplift, empower and inspire them to dream big.
The organization aims to help young people, especially those that live in community homeless shelters, lead healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition.
Expanding Our Support for Hospital Book Mobiles
An important part of our mission is to ensure that every child has access to reading. We are proud to support the Starlight Children’s Foundation Book Mobile Program, which offers pediatric patients at local hospitals the chance to explore fictional worlds through books, for the past nine years. The program provides a necessary pastime for severely children throughout their hospital stays.
We initially supplied book mobile carts to The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in Manhattan and Harlem Hospital in Manhattan. We bolstered our support for the program by supplying book mobile carts to Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, and the Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn; now impacting all five New York City buroughs. The carts are replenished annually with Penguin Random House children’s books.
Joining the Third Year of Kellogg’s Feeding Reading Program
For the third year in a row, we partnered with the Kellogg Company to bring the Feeding Reading Program to students nationwide. The program was facilitated by our Special Markets team. Their partnership with Kellogg’s Feeding Reading program allowed anyone who buys participating products to earn credits for a free Penguin Random House book. With 125 diverse books to choose from in the program, participants had the opportunity to redeem up to 6 books.
The creative packaging included classic Penguin Random House literary characters such as the Berenstain Bears, Corduroy and The Very Hungry Caterpillar were featured on more than 100,000,000 Kellogg’s products.
Celebrating Free Expression During Banned Books Week
We believe the right to freedom of expression and the protection of writers against censorship and unjust persecution are indispensable to the development of society and culture. In honor of Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and highlighting the value of free and open access to information, we partnered with the American Bookseller Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) to celebrate the theme of the week “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”
From the week of September 26 – October 2, we donated $15,000 to ABFEE. Penguin Random House stands with ABOFF’s mission of promoting and protecting the free exchange of ideas. The organization issues statements on significant free expression controversies, participates in legal cases involving First Amendment rights, collaborates with other groups with an interest in free speech, and provides education about the importance of free expression to booksellers, politicians, the press and the public.
Bringing 100 Days of Reading to U.S. Cities with Save the Children
We came together with longstanding partner Save the Children to bring their annual 100 Days of Reading to 10 US cities. The tour kicked off in San Francisco to bring summer learning, fun activities, and essential resources that helped kids need to prepare for the school year.To support the program, we donated 50,000 children’s books in addition to providing content for their online library.
Stops included Los Angeles, New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte and Stanley, NC, Bay City, MI, Racine, WI, Chicago, and Boston.
Teaming Up with First Book for Giving Tuesday
For Giving Tuesday in 2021, we partnered with our longtime friends at First Book to give the gift of reading by supporting the “Give a Million” campaign through providing a 200,000 book donation to First Book toward their million-book effort. This Giving Tuesday initiative helps support our shared values and mission to foster a universal passion for reading.