PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 30, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portland office of KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, has donated 375 children's books to the library at Lowrie Primary School in an effort to promote literacy, inclusion and respect.
Volunteers from KPMG's Diversity and Inclusion Council delivered the books to the Lowrie school library and read to students in kindergarten through third grade. The KPMG volunteers read from books about diversity, inclusion, and accepting each other's differences. The books are among the 30-40 titles donated that also include children's classics such as Charlotte's Web and books written in Spanish.
KPMG's Portland office is supporting Lowrie Primary as part of the firm's national Family for Literacy initiative. In collaboration with First Book, a non-profit with nearly two decades of experience providing new books to low-income children, KPMG raises money to purchase and distribute new children's books to students who need them most. KPMG's Family for Literacy program is the foundation of KPMG's "education continuum" of programs established to advance workforce readiness in communities.
"KPMG's donation to the Lowrie school library creates incredible opportunity for every child in our school. Their generous donation increases the access for all our children to quality literature," says Lowrie Principal Patrick Meigs. "We are fortunate to have a diverse and vibrant student body and we thank KPMG for donating such a remarkable collection of books and promoting the value of diversity throughout our school and community."
"One of KPMG's core values is giving back to the communities in which we work and live," says KPMG Portland Managing Partner Rich Callahan. "We also support diversity in the workplace and our firm devotes time and resources to promoting literacy. So this donation is a perfect fit for KPMG."
About KPMG Family for Literacy
KPMG's Family for Literacy initiative began five years ago in cooperation with the non-profit First Book, and is led by the spouses of KPMG partners and employees from across the firm's offices. To date, KPMG has delivered more than two million books to children in local communities across the country. In addition to raising money for KPMG's Family for Literacy, KPMG's extended family of volunteers, which includes partners, spouses, employees, interns and alumni, and family and friends, visit classrooms, read to children, and deliver new books to low income children—in many cases, these are the first books their families have owned.
About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.kpmg.com/us), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International's member firms have 152,000 professionals, including more than 8,600 partners, in 156 countries.