Regions: U.S.
Dinner on the House
Dinner on the House is an annual employee volunteer experience designed to serve those who may need a helping hand during the holiday season. For the past twelve years, Penguin Random House volunteers have joined City Harvest at their Food Rescue Center to help repack food items into family-sized portions for distribution to New Yorkers in need.
Paris Agreement
First Publisher to join REBA
READ TOGETHER, BE TOGETHER Initiative
Our two children’s divisions, Penguin Young Readers and Random House Children’s Books, in partnership with Meredith Corporation’s Parents, launched READ TOGETHER, BE TOGETHER (#ReadTogetherBeTogether), a nationwide initiative that celebrates the importance and power of reading with young children. Originally slated to launch in summer 2020 with nationwide retail, educator, and consumer activations, the program began in March, in light of COVID-19, with a series of daily virtual storytimes with bestselling and award-winning authors and illustrators, as well as celebrity readers.
As part of READ TOGETHER, BE TOGETHER, we are donating 750,000 books to First Book. To meet the urgent need expressed by educators coping with school closures, the donated books will be sent to programs and schools that are currently delivering books, food, and supplies to our youngest citizens who are isolated and locked out of a learning environment. In addition to the book donation, we are also covering the cost of shipping the books to First Book, valued at $25,000.
LEED Certification for US
Walking for a Cause
The Global Walk is an annual, company-wide fundraising event held in New York City, which supports local nonprofit organizations that align with our commitment to social responsibility and giving back to communities in need. Past fundraising recipients include The Legal Aid Society, Project HOPE, Girls Write Now, i, Too, Arts Collective, and Barbershop Books, among others. Over the past five years, employees have raised more than $240,000 for our beneficiaries.
Sustainable Paper Worldwide
Out of Print Donates to Help Independent Bookstores
In response to the difficult financial choices so many of our indie bookstore partners are having to make in the wake of COVID-19, Out of Print, one of Penguin Random House’s companies, found itself in a unique position to help. For a couple days, 25% of sales on its website were donated to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc), to lift bookstores hit hardest by the social-distancing efforts and forced closures across the nation. This special retail event raised $19,500 for booksellers in need.
The $19,500 raised will help 19 families of bookstore employees to pay the rent and cover expenses for a month. Binc has more than 400 claims in process, and more are expected. Out of Print plans to continue to use its platform and merchandise to show appreciation and to assist various teacher, librarian, and bookstore groups during this crisis. The fundraiser was included in a special offer for tote bags that also served as a bit of “retail therapy” for readers while they supported the bookstores they love.
Bringing Books to Juvenile Courtrooms
In 2018, we collaborated with the Legal Aid Society in a new campaign called Let Them Read, which brings books into courtrooms for young New Yorkers to read while they wait for their cases to be called. We donated more than 200 titles for the launch of the pilot program in Brooklyn. Books were historically not allowed in courtrooms, but attorneys successfully made the argument that providing books would give young New Yorkers something productive to do while waiting in court. To learn more, click here and here.