Plant A Seed for The Need To Read...And You Will Succeed, Succeed Indeed
"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child."

This Dr. Seuss quote is the thought behind “Read Across America,” a signature program from the National Education Association that focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.

Last month, Pacific Life got the chance to help bring literacy to life by stuffing Read Across America Kits for students at local elementary schools. In the first of three onsite Community events in honor of our 150th Anniversary celebration, more than 1,400 Pacific Life employees in Orange County, Omaha and Lynchburg created more than 8,300 kits for book-hungry boys and girls.

Stuffed with notebooks, pencils, stickers, a craft project, and a Dr. Seuss book, the Read Across America Kits were delivered to students at local Title 1 schools in celebration of Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2.

"Our employees came together and contributed great things to the Read Across America program," said Tere Segarra, Pacific Life's Community Relations Director. "Watching the children open their literacy kits and seeing the joy spread across their faces shows the impact this kind of community effort can have. We are proud we could participate."

By the Numbers: 

• Total Employee Participants: 1,447
• Total Volunteer Hours: 1,072
• Total Literacy Kits Made: 8,317
• Total Title 1 Schools Benefited: 20
• Total Children Impacted: 8,317

Monica Kojian, Tax Manager in Corporate who participated in the Read Across America event in Newport Beach, fondly recalls a childhood reading favorite from the classic author.

“When I was little, Dr. Seuss was one of my favorite authors. I must have had my mom read ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ to me a hundred times,” Monica said. “His books were creative and fun to read and they sparked my joy of learning. Literacy is such an important thing in life and many of us take it for granted. Having the opportunity to create literacy kits for children who may not have those resources available is something I’m proud to be a part of. I’m sure Dr. Seuss would be delighted to know that Pacific Life honored his birthday by helping spread literacy to those less fortunate.”

Packing literacy kits turned into a bit of a competition for some employees. Nichole Simpson, Senior New Business Training Analyst in Lynchburg brought her new hire class to the event – and packed a record-breaking number of Read Across America bags.

“Read Across America was such a fun experience for myself as well as my new hire class. The class was able to complete enough packets for ONE entire school – 273 kits! It was a great bonding experience and it allowed us to give back to the community. What a perfect way to put our core values into action!”

—  Nichole Simpson, Senior New Business Training Analyst in Lynchburg

Teamwork and communication were key to both staying on track and making the event fun-filled for our employees.

“The Read Across America day was such a fun event to attend. By taking a little time out of our day we could provide children in our community with a kit that will have such a lasting impact on them,” said Casey Bragg, HR Coordinator in Lynchburg. “The event required us to use a lot of teamwork and communication. Overall I thought it was such a fun event that benefited all parties involved!”

For Lillyan Chandler, Senior Investment Accountment in Corporate, knowing that she was helping to give the gift of reading to a school child was especially inspiring.

“I really enjoyed having the opportunity to participate in the Read Across America program a couple of weeks ago,” Lillyan said. “Getting to compile the kits that will impact local kids who would not have otherwise gotten to participate in this program with my work team was an incredible experience. It was a great team-building event for work and knowing we had a hand in giving the gift of reading to help kids reach their full potential is wonderful.”

Other participants reveled in the joy of working with other Pacific Life employees on the literacy kits.

“Knowing that our participation in the Read Across America event has benefited underprivileged youth in our community was extremely rewarding. Working next to my fellow team members made the experience even more enjoyable. We are fortunate to work for an organization that makes events like this so convenient for all employees to participate in.”