This past week Reading Partners’ Silicon Valley and San Francisco team members volunteered their Saturday afternoon to host a Reading Partners book drive at the San Jose State University vs. Stanford football game (known to locals as the“Silicon Valley Showdown”)! Reading Partners’ tables and book bins were stationed around the stadium collecting books that will go directly to our reading centers and enjoyed by students around the bay area.Our Reading Partners team, including our newest AmeriCorps team members, brought their A-game—signing up almost 50 new volunteers while collecting new and gently used books for the drive! Some of our team members and volunteers even brought their families, sharing the value of reading and volunteerism!

Our shining moment came when three of our team members including Tai Sunnanon, Silicon Valley Executive Director, received books from Stanford’s official mascot, the Stanford Tree, on the 10 yard-line. But the excitement didn’t stop there, shortly after our moment on the 10 yard-line, our new PSA aired on the jumbotron for the whole stadium to enjoy!

The Stanford Cardinals might have beat the SJSU Spartans (34-13), but Reading Partners Silicon Valley came out the big winners. If you’d like to learn more about volunteering with Reading Partners, visit www.readingpartners.org/volunteer.