As Ian has noted, “Under my leadership, Reed Elsevier will remain committed to fulfilling our corporate responsibility promise.” This commitment was in evidence on 16 June when leaders from across the business demonstrated that community engagement is a priority.
Loudoun County, where Leesburg is located, has been transformed over the last decade from a largely farming community to the hub of the so-called Dulles technology corridor. Less than ten years ago, Loudoun County had a population of barely 70,000. Today it is 280,000 and growing. And the school-age population has doubled since 1998, with 42 new schools opened in the last decade where more than 100 foreign languages are spoken.
Loudoun County Public Library, which has similarly grown from a storefront to seven branches with a 2008 circulation of over a million items, supports diversity by bringing together youth from different backgrounds and cultures. These young people (aged 12-18) each year select a charity to support through a variety of activities. This year it is Ethiopia Reads. They will be raising money to buy books and build a children’s library in Ethiopia by hosting fairy tale balls for children and families across the library system this autumn. Our senior managers helped advance the young people’s ambitious plans by constructing sets, decorating, drawing, painting, sewing, and more!
Delegates were lucky to meet the founder of Ethiopia Reads, Yohannes Gebregeorgis, who was able to join the project. Yohannes, a talented library professional, returned to his native Ethiopia in the late 1990s to spread literacy in a nation where 67% of people can't read. He is sharing books and creating libraries – 17 to date, including one pulled by a donkey to remote villages. Yohannes was one of the CNN’s Top Ten Heroes of 2008.
The event was a tangible example of commitment to RE Cares and corporate responsibility: doing good for our business by positively contributing to our communities, wherever we are.