SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volunteers from the Silicon Valley office of KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, have joined the "1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds" initiative to help children at Sunnyvale's San Miguel Elementary School improve their reading skills.
KPMG's Silicon Valley office is supporting San Miguel Elementary as part of the firm's national Family for Literacy initiative. In collaboration with First Book, a non-profit with nearly two decades of providing new books to low-income children, KPMG raises money to purchase and distribute new children's books to students who need them most.
Under the 1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds program, KPMG volunteers spend an hour each week tutoring San Miguel students during and after school in sessions run by the nonprofit Reading Partners.
"We are very grateful for initiatives and organizations like 1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds, KPMG's Family for Literacy program, and Reading Partners, and for the leaders of those initiatives and the volunteers who work with our students. I can't imagine where we would be without them," said San Miguel Elementary School Principal Brenda Guy.
"The people of KPMG's Silicon Valley office are truly excited about the opportunity to participate in 1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds to help the students at San Miguel Elementary School," said KPMG Silicon Valley Managing Partner and San Miguel tutor Tim Zanni. "There's no greater satisfaction than knowing that you helped a child learn, which can build their self-esteem and confidence."
A joint effort by San Jose City Councilmember Sam Liccardo and Silicon Valley Leadership Group President and CEO Carl Guardino, 1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds is an initiative launched in March 2011 to connect 1,000 caring adults with 1,000 students grades K-8 to improve their literacy, math, and science skills.
"Having KPMG join our effort adds to the momentum for 1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds as we continue toward our goal," said Councilmember Liccardo. Most importantly, it means more needy children are receiving the tutoring they need to improve their education and life."
"While we are making strides in growing the number of volunteers from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's more than 375 companies, I want to encourage more members and others in Silicon Valley to consider this opportunity to help educate our future workforce," said Guardino, who has been a tutor in the program.
Under the 1,000 Hearts for 1,000 Minds initiative, KPMG volunteers, like all reading volunteers in the program, completed training from Reading Partners, a nonprofit literacy organization that recruits and trains community volunteers to provide one-on-one reading tutoring to students in under-resourced schools across the country.
"We appreciate KPMG's commitment to help San Miguel students become stronger and more confident readers and look forward to matching more of their volunteers with students," said Lauren Silk, Reading Partners site coordinator.
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.