SUMMER GIVING: MACY'S AND READING IS FUNDAMENTAL (RIF) RAISE OVER $1.52 MILLION IN JULY CAMPAIGN SUPPORTING CHILDREN'S LITERACY

Rhea-AI Summary

Macy's and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) raised over $1.5 million in July to enhance literacy for under-resourced children. This funding supports RIF's Race, Equity and Inclusion initiative and the Rally to Read 100 campaign. Over 18 years, Macy's has contributed more than $46 million toward children's literacy, distributing nearly 15 million books. The partnership aims to bridge the literacy gap exacerbated by the pandemic, fostering accessibility to diverse reading materials.

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• Raised over $1.5 million for children's literacy in July 2022.
• Over 18 years, contributed more than $46 million to children’s literacy.
• Distributed nearly 15 million books through various initiatives.
• Supports RIF's Race, Equity and Inclusion initiative to provide diverse books.

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• None.

Funds raised will support providing book choice and access to our most at-risk children as RIF and Macy's partner together to close the literacy gap

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In support of providing books and reading resources to children living in our nation's most under-resourced communities, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Macy's announced that over $1.5 million was raised last month as part of Macy's Mission Every One social purpose initiative, which included an in-store round-up and online donation campaign to support student literacy across the country. Funds raised during the campaign will support RIF's Race, Equity and Inclusion work providing diverse books and reading resources to underserved communities in an effort to help close the literacy gap, while also supporting RIF's second annual reading initiative, Rally to Read 100.

For 18 years, Reading Is Fundamental, the nation's preeminent children's literacy organization, has partnered with Macy's to foster a love of reading and learning. Macy's long-standing partnership has resulted in a total contribution of more than $46 million toward children's literacy, the distribution of almost 15 million books and the creation of more than 20,000 supplemental literacy resources and tools offered free to all children at RIF.org/Literacy-Central. 

"Literacy is the very foundation of learning, and we are grateful to work with an organization that puts giving back as a core pillar of its values and prioritizes children's literacy," said Alicia Levi, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. "Through Macy's generous donations, Reading Is Fundamental can continue to supply meaningful reading resources to children, educators and families. This is especially important as we strive to combat the many learning losses created by the pandemic, which only deepened the literacy gap in our most under-resourced communities." 

"One of the goals of Macy's social purpose platform, Mission Every One, is to empower youth and to create a brighter future with bold representation for all. A core pillar of this initiative is our aim to provide young people with opportunities to learn, dream and create a successful future without boundaries. RIF is a critical partner in Macy's achieving this vision," said Sam DiScipio, Senior Director, Corporate Communications - Giving & Volunteerism at Macy's. "Macy's has partnered with RIF for 18 years now and in 2020 was a founding partner of their Race, Equity and Inclusion Initiative. Through our partnership with RIF, we are not only providing open access to resources and books to youth from underrepresented communities, but ensuring that those books serve as mirrors and windows; they are full of characters that look like them, written by authors they look up to, and enable them to re-discover their joy of reading and charting their paths to a bright future."

RIF is also thrilled this year to have the support of a schoolteacher turned actor, musician, two-time national poetry slam champion, entrepreneur, and Grammy-nominated poetic voice, Sekou Andrews. To support this month-long campaign, Sekou created five short poet voice videos as seen on the campaign sitelet and Macy's TikTok channel, that powerfully conveyed the importance of reading and books on empowering children to have brighter futures.

RIF is appreciative of Macy's once again choosing literacy as part of this campaign, and was honored to have won the 2022 Gold Halo Award with Macy's in the Best Education Initiative category for the Back-to-School Round-up Campaign, a similar campaign that took place in August 2021. The Halo Awards are North America's highest honor for corporate social impact initiatives that showcase outstanding consumer engagement or employee engagement efforts.

About Macy's: 

Macy's, the largest retail brand of Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M) serves as the style source for generations of customers. With one of the nation's largest e-commerce platforms powered by macys.com and mobile app, paired with a nationwide network of stores, Macy's delivers the most convenient and seamless shopping experience, offering great values in apparel, home, beauty, accessories and more. Macy's gives customers even more ways to shop and own their style through an off-price assortment at Macy's Backstage and at our highly curated and smaller store format, Market by Macy's. Each year, Macy's provides millions with unforgettable experiences through Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® and helps our customers celebrate special moments, big and small. We're guided by our purpose – to create a brighter future with bold representation that empowers more voice, choice and ownership for our colleagues, customers, and communities.

For more information, please visit macysinc.com.

To learn more about Macy's Corporate Giving, please visit macys.com/gives. 

About Reading Is Fundamental:

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is committed to a literate America by inspiring a passion for reading among all children, providing quality content to create impact, and engaging communities in the solution to give every child the fundamentals for success.  As the nation's largest nonprofit organization for children's literacy, RIF has provided more than 422 million books to more than 129 million kids in all 50 states, inspiring generations to read, learn, and grow. Learn more at www.RIF.org.

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SOURCE Reading Is Fundamental

FAQ

How much money did Macy's and RIF raise for children's literacy?

Macy's and RIF raised over $1.5 million in July 2022.

What initiatives are supported by the funds raised by Macy's?

The funds support RIF's Race, Equity and Inclusion initiative and Rally to Read 100.

How long has Macy's partnered with Reading Is Fundamental?

Macy's has partnered with RIF for 18 years.

How much has Macy's donated to children's literacy over the years?

Macy's has donated more than $46 million to children's literacy.

How many books has Macy's helped distribute through its initiatives?

Macy's has helped distribute nearly 15 million books.