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On Thursday, some of our staffers met up with volunteers from Barclays Capital for a reading event at the YAI Network‘s Gramercy School in New York City. The preschool serves children ages 3-5 who have developmental disabilities and/or learning delays.

The kids especially enjoyed In the Snow, Bear About Town and stories from Eric Carle’s All Around Us collection. Barclays volunteers also participated in classroom lessons that the Gramercy teachers developed specifically for the occasion, like making sure that Bear was ready to go to town by helping glue his scarf, jacket and boots on.

Best of all, every child at the event received a backpack with three brand-new books to keep.

These books are part of Barclays’ ongoing commitment to helping First Book bring books to children from low-income communities. Thanks to their support, we’ll be launching a special section dedicated to financial literacy and college readiness on the First Book Marketplace next month.

Learn more about this event here.

Last week, volunteers from Barclays Wealth and Barclays Capital surprised students at Southside Elementary Museums Magnet School in Miami, Florida with a donation of 2,000 brand new books. The volunteers shared a very special afternoon of reading with the first-grade students of Southside; children crowded around their Barclays visitors, anxiously waiting to hear new stories and lobbying for the chance to be the next reader. After reading Bunny Money and The Berenstain Bears Lend a Helping Hand with the Barclays volunteers, students took home their very own copies of each title to read independently, share with siblings and friends or have the stories read to them again.

As part of a new partnership with Barclays Wealth, First Book will donate 2,000 new books to Southside Elementary for its children as well as its school and classroom libraries, where current and future students will enjoy them for years to come. In 2010, Barclays Wealth and First Book will distribute 10,000 brand new books in communities where Barclays employees work and live. We are proud to work with Barclays as the company follows it philosophy of banking on brighter futures, looking after local communities and supporting charity at work.

When 25 volunteers from Barclays Capital arrived at North Star Academy Elementary in Newark last Tuesday to share their love of reading with elementary students, little did they know that those students, in return, would share their own fiery passion for learning and their courage to succeed.

As the “Morning Circle” routine began, kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade students chanted about their classroom pride and enthusiasm for math. Next, the Emory Eagles of second grade performed an incredible original song about matter (their current unit of study in science). When the students were finally introduced to the Barclays Capital “superheroes,” who had arrived to read brand new books with them, their young faces lit up with excitement. The scholars of North Star Academy have an unmatched love for reading, and the donation of new books, such as Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells and Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold, from Barclays Capital allows these students to take home and enjoy their very own books.

In partnership with First Book, Barclays Capital has donated a total of 4,000 new books to North Star Academy this year. All of the school’s campuses are receiving these resources, which will help North Star continue to pursue its mission of closing the achievement gap. Here at First Book, we are proud to partner with Barclays Capital and North Star—two fantastic organizations that are dedicated to creating bright futures for all children.

Volunteers from Barclays Capital continued to give books and spread joy to students in the New York City metropolitan area last week. As part of their Investing in Bright Futures program, Barclays Capital volunteers visited PAVE Academy in Brooklyn, New York and announced that they would donate 2,000 brand new books to the school.  On Tuesday, volunteers brought copies of Bunny Money, by Rosemary Wells, and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride, by Marjorie Priceman, to read with PAVE’s first-grade students. At the end of the day, the first-graders were thrilled to take home their very own copies of both books!

In 2010, Barclays Capital will donate more than 30,000 new books to children from low-income populations throughout the United States. We are proud to work with Barclays to provide financial literacy materials and educational resources to children in need, as well as invest in the bright future of our next generation of leaders.

On Tuesday, an enthusiastic group of volunteers from Barclays Capital arrived at Community Partnership Charter School (CPCS) in Brooklyn, New York with exciting news for the elementary school students: in honor of the New Year, Barclays and First Book would donate 2,010 brand new books to CPCS! As we shared this news with the second-grade students, a group of them exploded into a “silent cheer” just as they had done when Principal Melanie Bryon-Capellan first explained that some special guests had arrived to spend the morning.

As part of Barclays Capital’s Investing in Bright Futures program, all second-grade students received copies of The Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense as well as Now Hiring: White House Dog and had the chance to spend about an hour reading with visitors from Barclays. The rest of the 2,010 donated books will fill shelves in classrooms and the school library, where current and future students will enjoy them for years to come. With natural curiosity, motivating teachers, and now brand new resources from Barclays Capital, the future is looking incredibly bright for the students of CPCS.

Barclays Capital, a proud partner of First Book, is providing over 15,000 new books to children in need all across the country!

Last Tuesday, 30 Barclays Capital volunteers gathered to share the joy of reading and celebrated the gift of books with first grade students at East Orange Community Charter School in East Orange, New Jersey. The enthusiasm and excitement was palpable, as the children beamed and welcomed the volunteers with hugs and bashful smiles. Barclays Capital employees and first-graders were welcomed with inspirational stories from Harven Dash and Yolanda Greene of the East Orange Community Charter School, Keith Kochie of Barclays and Kyle Zimmer, President of First Book. The students were divided into small groups as volunteers read Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense and Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, the two books each first-grader took home! The kids were sitting at the edge of their chairs, or cozied up to the volunteers on the floor, enchanted by the stories. In some groups, the students felt so empowered that they chose to read to the volunteers instead!

Each of the school’s 500 students received two books to take home, and Barclays generously provided backpacks and bookmarks as well. As a special treat, the school received an additional donation of over 700 books, which will increase the library by 20%!

Thank you Barclays Capital for making such an impact on the lives of these students and many more around the country!