Boston-based staffing firm, Hollister and the company’s on-site nonprofit Everybody Wins! Metro Boston (EWMB) attended a luncheon at the Dante Alighieri Elementary School in East Boston on May 20, honoring the adults and students who participated in the 2008-2009 Power Lunch program, a lunchtime literacy and mentoring program that aims to improve children’s reading skills and encourage a love for reading.
EWMB brought its Power Lunch program to Dante Alighieri in the fall of 2006. Over the course of the past school year, 80 readers from Boston businesses, universities, and community organizations traveled to the school once a week on their lunch breaks to read to a low-income student for one hour. Seventeen of this year’s 80 volunteers came from Hollister’s Boston office. In 2006, Hollister donated a portion of its office space to Everybody Wins! Metro Boston. Since EWMB moved into Hollister’s corporate headquarters, the nonprofit has grown over 130% and more than 50% of Hollister employees have committed to read to a child once a week.
At the celebratory luncheon held at Dante Alighieri’s playground, Principal Anthony Valdez said, “We are very appreciative of the adult mentors who participate in the Power Lunch program because they significantly improve our students’ reading skills and confidence. They make a big difference in our students’ lives.”
Fifty-six first through fourth graders were awarded certificates marking the end of the Power Lunch reading program. Their reading partners also presented them with books.
Third grader Justin Baldaccari said “Reading was very challenging for me to do on my own, but teamwork helped me learn to read. Now I love taking books home.”
The Power Lunch program has been such a success that Bank of New York Mellon donated $20,000 to EWMB this year. BNY Mellon mentor Dave Daglio brought the program to the attention of his company. He said “Because I believed I was supporting a worthy program, I met with BNY Mellon’s Community Relations Manager Carol Smith and suggested we as a company participate. We are so impressed by what a significant impact just a small donation of time can have on so many students.”
About Everybody Wins! Metro Boston
Everybody Wins! Metro Boston (EWMB) is the Boston-based affiliate of Everybody Wins! USA, a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit organization that increases children’s opportunities for success in school and in life through its signature Power Lunch program, which brings volunteer mentors into schools for weekly one-on-one, read-aloud sessions. For more information, please visit www.ewmb.org
About Hollister
Founded in 1988, Hollister is a Boston-based, woman-owned, full-service staffing firm passionate about connecting talented professionals with jobs in Massachusetts and companies with the best employees. Hollister has been recognized as one of Boston’s Fastest Growing Private Companies, Largest Temporary Placement Agencies, and Top 100 Woman-Led Businesses. The company was also recently inducted into the Boston Business Hall of Fame for its consistent commitment to community service and social responsibility. For more information about Hollister, please visit www.hollisterstaff.com
