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Last week, Barclays volunteers visited PAVE Academy in Brooklyn, NY to read with students and hand-deliver brand new books from First Book.

 Volunteers visited the Howard and Syracuse kindergarten classrooms to read four different books to 50 excited students, including the Barclays special branded edition of Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense, a great title focused on financial literacy for young readers. At the end of the reading party, the kindergartners were excited to discover that they were each taking home copies of the four brand new books in a Barclays backpack.

The reading party marked the third consecutive year that Barclays volunteers have visited PAVE Academy. Volunteers will continue to visit K-2 students in the New York metropolitan area throughout 2012, bringing new books to every school.

Since 2009, Barclays and First Book have distributed more than 75,000 new books to children in need across the country. In addition to hosting reading parties, Barclays is also working with First Book to develop the financial literacy and college readiness sections on the First Book Marketplace, launch a new program with Teach for America’s New York region, and provide college readiness grants to 10 middle and high schools. Each element of our partnership with Barclays is helping First Book to reach more students with more valuable educational resources.

Last week, First Book staffers, along with volunteers from our friends at Barclays, visited Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School in New York City, and brought along some books.

The Barclays volunteers joined kindergartners in their classrooms and read Penguin Chick Grows Up, Dr. Seuss’ My Many Colored Days, and the special Barclays edition of Bunny Money.  At the end of the reading period, the students were excited to learn that they would each be taking home the three new books in a Barclays backpack.  One classroom even sang a song to the volunteers to thank them for visiting and bringing new books.

This is the second time that Barclays has visited a Girls Prep school; last year, volunteers read to students at the Girls Prep Lower East Side Elementary School and also provided them with a book grant to the First Book Marketplace.  Girls Prep Lower East Side Middle School will also be one of the first First Book recipient groups to receive a Barclays book grant for use on the First Book Marketplace Graduation and College Readiness section.

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.

On Thursday morning, two buses pulled up to North Star Academy in Newark, New Jersey and opened their doors to let their passengers enter the school. Instead of elementary school students, volunteers from Barclays Capital poured out of the buses and walked into the building, ready to spend a morning reading with first-grade students and also surprise students with a donation of 2,000 new books: four books for each of the 250 students at North Star to take home, and 1,000 more books to fill the shelves of North Star’s library.

Barclays volunteers read with first-graders at North Star Academy. Each student took home four new books, courtesy of Barclays.

Inside the school, the Barclays team and our First Book team were invited to watch North Star kick off its day at Morning Circle. As soon as it began, we knew that we were in a one-of-a-kind school. Kindergarteners, first-graders, and second-graders took their places in the Circle, performed class chants, cheered about their love for reading and math, and answered quick quiz questions from their principal. The intellect and enthusiasm of the students blew us away, and the incredible devotion of the teachers and staff members was obvious. The North Star students already shine, and with Barclays generously providing more resources to these curious, motivated learners, their futures are brighter still.