Quad Donates $25,000 to MagLiteracy.org to Kickstart Creation of National Literacy Marketplace
September 10 2020 - 2:19PM
Business Wire
Donation Supports Efforts to Combat Poverty
Amid Rising Challenges From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Persistent
Social Issues
In celebration of International Literacy Day and the 16th
anniversary of the founding of MagLiteracy.org this week, Quad
announced today that it has donated $25,000 to MagLiteracy.org to
kickstart the creation of a first-of-its-kind national literacy
marketplace. The marketplace, a nationwide network of regional
literacy banks, will facilitate donations of new, recycled or
expired magazines and comic books to local literacy programs – an
important tool in combatting poverty.
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Quad’s cornerstone contribution to MagLiteracy.org will be used
to:
- Establish a Magazine Literacy Lab in Madison, Wisconsin,
which will serve as a training, education and resource center for
individuals and groups looking to establish or grow literacy
programs in their own communities, replicating MagLiteracy.org’s
proven best practices, including how to engage volunteers.
- Support operations at MagLiteracy.org’s newly established
Ohio Literacy Bank, a warehouse in Columbus for processing
large-volume magazine donations (from publishers, newsstand
returns, etc.). These donations, which are sorted and boxed by
volunteers, are delivered to literacy programs in Columbus and
other nearby cities, including parts of Appalachia. The warehouse
is the first in a planned nationwide network of regional literacy
banks that will supply local literacy programs inside women’s
shelters, youth mentoring programs, job training centers, meal
programs and food pantries.
“We know that literacy is at the heart of freedom, prosperity,
civility and equality of opportunity, and essential for eradicating
poverty,” said John Mennell, Founder of MagLiteracy.org. “More than
12 million U.S. children live in poverty, and two-thirds of those
children have no books at home. It’s a discouraging situation, but
one we can effectively address, and thanks to the generous donation
from Quad, we are able to kickstart the creation of a national
literacy marketplace modeled after the food bank industry. We will
find and feed children and adults hungry to read.”
According to Mennell, illiteracy and low literacy are at the
center of every important social issue – from health and well-being
to racial and gender equality, and sustainable employment. For
example:
- 43 percent of adults with the low literacy levels live in
poverty, and 70 percent of adult public assistance recipients have
low literacy levels.(1)
- Nearly half of American adults have difficulty understanding
and using health information, hindering their ability to make
appropriate health decisions and increasing the likelihood they
will incur higher healthcare costs. More than $230 billion per year
in healthcare costs are linked to low adult literacy.(2)
- Individuals with low literacy have a higher rate of
unemployment and earn lower wages than the national
average.(3)
- Most poor children live in homes with zero books.(4)
“Quad and the Quadracci family are long-time champions of
literacy, and have supported our mission in a variety of ways over
a number of years, including providing transportation services and
warehouse space,” Mennell said. “So far, Quad has stored and moved
more than 1 million magazines for MagLiteracy.org. The literacy
rewards we have been able to achieve thanks to Quad’s generous
support are immeasurable.”
Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad, said:
“Myriad recent events – from the COVID-19 pandemic to natural
disasters and widespread social unrest – have reinforced the
importance of prioritizing people. Now more than ever we must work
with urgency and focus to affect tangible, lasting change. We are
proud to support the very important work being undertaken by John
Mennell and MagLiteracy.org. We hope our cornerstone contribution
will inspire publishers – as well as other printers and
supply-chain partners – to join us in this important humanitarian
effort. MagLiteracy.org is building a literacy pipeline that we can
fill with magazines, comic books and other types of reading
materials. Through this effort, we can increase literacy and help
lift people out of poverty. This is consistent with our
long-standing company values, including Believe in People and
Innovate, and our unremitting drive to create a better way for our
clients, our communities and our world.”
Numerous publishers are already supplying magazines to
MagLiteracy.org, including those who publish materials specifically
for children and families. “We thank everyone who is supporting our
mission,” Mennell said. “Demand for literacy support services has
only grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are glad to be part of
the solution, and look forward to growing our presence all across
the nation.”
(1) National Institute for Literacy (2) American Journal of
Public Health / American Public Health Association (3) National
Council for Adult Learning (4) Reading Is Fundamental
About MagLiteracy.org
MagLiteracy.org exists to promote literacy, strengthen
readership and learning, and end poverty by supplying recycled and
new magazines to literacy programs. The 501(c)3 non-profit,
formally known as the Magazine Publishers Family Literacy Project,
rescues every available magazine for delivery to at-risk readers to
help develop lasting, life-long reading habits that change lives
for good. For additional information visit www.magliteracy.org.
About Quad
Quad (NYSE: QUAD) is a worldwide marketing solutions partner
dedicated to creating a better way for its clients through a
data-driven, integrated marketing platform that helps reduce
complexity, increase efficiency and enhance marketing spend
effectiveness. Quad provides its clients with unmatched scale for
client on-site services and expanded subject expertise in marketing
strategy, creative solutions, media deployment (which includes a
strong foundation in print) and marketing management services. With
a client-centric approach that drives its expanded offering,
combined with leading-edge technology and single-source simplicity,
Quad has the resources and knowledge to help a wide variety of
clients in multiple vertical industries, including retail,
financial/insurance, healthcare, consumer packaged goods,
publishing and direct-to-consumer. Quad has multiple locations
throughout North America, South America and Europe, and strategic
partnerships in Asia and other parts of the world. For additional
information visit www.Quad.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200910005901/en/
John Mennell, Founder, MagLiteracy.org 609.651.8430 /
john@magliteracy.org Claire Ho, Director of Corp Comm, Quad
414-566-2955 / cho@quad.com
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