Businesses are invited to join the first ever online “Jumping for Literacy Guinness World record attempt” on Thursday 19 November to support early childhood literacy.
The event is run by United Way Australia (UWA), a charity aiming to improve early childhood outcomes and school-to-work transitions.
“We know that 90 per cent of brain development occurs by age five, therefore early intervention by providing children with access to books and the tools to learn at home, is critical,” said Clayton Noble, CEO of UWA.
Whilst UWA usually hosts physical fundraising events such as the Macquarie Park Business Community Walkathon, this year they have shifted to an online format to continue raising vital funds for Australian children.
“This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, United Way has had to pivot and so we’re holding the Jumping for Literacy online event and Guinness World RecordsTM attempt, to create a way for businesses to still take part with their teams and have fun whilst raising vital funds for children across Australia. The beauty of our new approach is participation is open to anyone in Australia, not just those in the Macquarie Park business community,” said Mr Noble.
Sue Martin, Managing Director at Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices – one of the event’s main sponsors – emphasises how supporting the community through events like Jumping for Literacy is imperative.
“I think that in a tough year, support is needed absolutely more than ever. From a Johnson & Johnson perspective, working with local communities is a critical element of how we work and aligns with our value system,” said Ms Martin.
“This is a great way to do something fun and relatively simple and it’s something that’s meaningful as well.”
Melanie, a mum and teacher with a five year old daughter, can also attest to how much her daughter has benefited from UWA’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.
“[My daughter] loves it. When she was turning five, she knew wasn’t going to get any more books from UWA anymore. But the last book was ‘Starting School’ and she was still really excited. It was really bittersweet.”
Joining UWA’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library has also helped both Melanie and her daughter feel more comfortable in a new city.
“We moved here with no network and it’s given us heaps of connections and a community. People meet at the local playgroup and forge friendships and connections.”
The funds will go towards supporting 700 children enrolled in the Imagination Library in the Macquarie Park and North Ryde area and new families in other areas.
To join the event, businesses must take a photo of themselves jumping in the air and upload it to the United Way Facebook event page between 12-1pm AEDT. The pictures can be uploaded from either the office or home.
For a $2000 contribution, companies can register 20 employees and additional employees can take part for $10 per person.
To find out more, click here: https://unitedway.com.au/2020/09/07/jumping-for-literacy
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