Reading is Knowledge: Rose Pest Solutions, Northwestern University, Chicago Wolves and Bernie’s Book Bank Working Together
Chicago, Ill. (January 20, 2022) — It would seem that Little Miss Muffet and The Very Hungry Caterpillar would be the topics that Rose Pest Solutions, www.rosepestcontrol.com, would recommend to young readers but it’s much more than that. Reading is knowledge. And knowledge is power. Empowering the youth in the communities Rose serves is one way the company gives back.
“Of course, that’s a good start for young kids learning to read,” said Janelle Iaccino, a bug expert with Rose Pest Solutions. “But we have been taking it much further to help kids build a strong reading foundation because knowledge is power. We are all about facilitating stronger, smarter kids in the communities we serve,” she added.
That’s why, for the fourth year in a row, Rose has partnered with Northwestern University and the Chicago Wolves to raise awareness for literacy and to help get books in the hands of those in underserved communities through Bernie’s Book Bank, www.berniesbookbank.org.
“There’s a fragile window of childhood where you can make a difference through reading physical books,” Iaccino said. We want to be a part of that,” she added.
More Than 27,000 Books Have Been Donated through Books for Buckets!
The Books for Buckets campaign, https://nusports.com/sports/2018/9/11/books-for-buckets.aspx was created by Northwestern Athletics and Rose Pest Solutions in 2018 to help promote literacy. During the past three fall and winter sports seasons, Northwestern Men’s Basketball and Rose partnered together to host community book drives, fan contests, and three-pointer donations, among other activities.
Books for Buckets has several tactics in place to promote literacy. For every three-pointer during NU Men’s Basketball home games, Rose donates a set of 12 books through Bernie’s Book Bank. Rose’s Chicago, Wheeling, Northfield and Lombard Illinois locations are official book donation sites for Bernie’s Book Bank. During the basketball season, for every 6 books donated, donors will receive a Northwestern men’s basketball ticket. So far, more than 26,000 books have been donated through Books for Buckets.
Each year, donations have succeeded the previous year and in the 2020/21 Football Postseason, Rose ran an extension to “Books for Buckets” called “Books for Boots” where Rose donated 12 books for each Extra Point or Field Goal made by Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game and the Citrus Bowl. This resulted in an additional 84 books donated to Bernie’s Book Bank.
COVID Did Not Stop the Mission
During the 2020-21 basketball season, the Books for Buckets campaign pivoted to a virtual literacy program to encourage at-home reading among kids in grades K-8 who were home during the pandemic. All participants who read age-appropriate books during the month of November 2020 had the opportunity to receive Northwestern Athletics and Rose Pest Solutions giveaways and special discounts on treats from local businesses like Culver’s of Skokie and Chick-fil-A Old Orchard.
More than 240 local Chicagoland students participated in the 2020 Virtual Literacy program reading 1,718 books throughout the month of November. The program was so popular during the pandemic that it’s returning in the spring of 2022 even though kids are back in school. This year, Rose plans to reach hundreds more children in surrounding community schools.
Rose & Chicago Wolves enter their fifth season together
Rose is also encouraging families to participate in the Score for Charity program with the Chicago Wolves. For every “Save” the Wolves goalie makes to prevent the other team from scoring, Rose will donate a set of books to Bernie’s. In exchange for book donations throughout the season, donors will receive Wolves tickets.
“We recently presented two checks to Bernie’s, one from our program with NU Sports for $2,400 and one from our program with the Wolves for $2,100 for the last seasons with them. It feels so good to be a part of such an awesome community effort.” Iaccino said.
For information on how your school can get involved, visit www.rosepestcontrol.com.
