Reading Is Fundamental and Trane Technologies Partner to Build Sustainable Futures through the Power of Literacy

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Oct 18, 2023, 10:38 ET

Collaboration will impact more than 280,000 students with second year of unique STEM-based literacy initiative.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Reading Is Fundamental and Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, launched the second year of their partnership at the start of the 2022 – 2023 school year to continue delivering on their shared mission to support children's literacy and empower children through reading. Today, RIF announced that through a three-pronged initiative, generously supported by the Trane Technologies Charitable Foundation, they have supported more than 280,000 children with books and reading content. It has been especially important to both organizations to support children in under-resourced communities, specifically in Charlotte, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fresno, California, and Dallas Texas, as well as children nationally.

Last year, through this partnership, RIF launched its Sustainable Futures Center. Named for Trane Technologies' corporate citizenship strategy, the center is on RIF's free book resource website, Literacy Central. Children are naturally interested in the world around them and reading and learning about its inhabitants and resources is both exciting and important. The Sustainable Futures Center launched with four important themes covering topics including STEM careers, environmental justice, air and water, with supplementary book suggestions and tools for educators and families. This year three new themes were introduced to support growing demand for this type of content including changemakers, energy, and food waste reduction. The resources in this center were built with the guidance of Trane Technologies employee volunteers to help children understand their planet and inspire them to care for it now and in the future. Since its launch in March 2022, over 550,000 children have been reached with the Center's content and resources.

Through Trane Technologies' generosity, RIF also brought its evidenced-based reading program, Read for Success, back for a second year, doubling the number of school program recipients to twelve elementary schools, providing 1,200 students in Charlotte, Minneapolis, Fresno, and Dallas each with six new books. The partnership was also able to provide educators with new book collections for their classrooms with supplemental STEAM-enrichment activities and professional development. The educators who were recipients of this program unanimously shared in survey results that the program inspired their students to love reading and increased their students' frequency and enthusiasm for reading.

Additionally, 3,800 excited students across the country were the recipients of RIF Literacy Kits assembled and distributed by Trane Technologies employees beginning in January 2023 through this summer. These students each received three new books, STEM activity sheets, a string tote, bookmarks, and more all with the aim to inspire a joy of reading.

Trane Technologies volunteers continued the efforts started last year to share their expertise by creating Q&A-styled videos fielding student questions on their various STEM careers, what inspired them to work in their field and the impact of reading on their journey.

These videos are being shared with classrooms across the four cities and are available on the Sustainable Futures Center for on-demand viewing nationally.

"We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Trane Technologies to showcase the importance of a sustainable future and work together to leverage the power of books and reading support around key STEM topics," said Alicia Levi, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. "Trane Technologies is truly helping to inspire our nation's young readers to care about our planet and provide access to critical reading resources."

"In a world increasingly reliant upon sophisticated technology, there is no substitute for a child having strong reading skills as a foundation for success in learning," said Deidra Parrish Williams, Trane Technologies leader of Global Corporate Social Responsibility. "That's why we're proud to continue our partnership with RIF, delivering books and resources to thousands of children in underserved communities across the country."

About Reading Is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is committed to creating a nation of lifelong readers by inspiring the joy of reading among all children, putting them on the path to becoming skilled readers. We provide free, high-quality content to engage children, educators, families, and literacy advocates in the solution to the U.S. literacy crisis—so that every child has the fundamentals for success. As the nation's leading children's literacy nonprofit, RIF has provided nearly 430 million books and reading resources to over 160 million children since 1966, impacting generations of children. Explore our results and learn more about partnering with us at www.RIF.org.

About Trane Technologies
Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane^® and Thermo King^®, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes, and transportation. For more on Trane Technologies, visit tranetechnologies.com.

SOURCE Reading Is Fundamental