Hachette English Language Holds Global Volunteer Day Benefiting Raising Readers Social Impact Campaign

Hachette English Language employees from across the globe came together on July 9 to volunteer with organizations advancing children’s literacy and love for reading in partnership with more than a dozen organizations and 170 bookstores.

New York, NY (July 13, 2026) — On Thursday, July 9, employees across all Hachette English language offices, including the US, the UK, Germany, Ireland, India, Australia and Canada, volunteered their time in service of Raising Readers, Hachette’s urgent and long-term campaign to raise awareness about the alarming decline in children reading for fun. Across all locations, employees dedicated their time to supporting children, parents, and caregivers while helping spread the importance of reading and inspiring a lifelong joy of books. In addition to volunteering, Hachette Book Group donated thousands of books to our Raising Readers partners through these volunteer opportunities. 

The Raising Readers campaign is a call-to-action to highlight the importance of reading for pleasure with kids and to encourage adults to make reading part of our children’s daily lives. Research indicatesthat reading for pleasure and entertainment has a significant impact on a child’s future happiness and success. Even more than family circumstances, parents’ educational background, or income, reading impacts academic results, emotional well-being, economic security, communication skills, and ambition. 

“Reading books for pleasure has been proven to be the No. 1 activity to positively influence a child’s future success. Yet, there are many millions of children around the world without access to books,” said David Shelley, CEO of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK. “I’m very proud of everyone across Hachette who volunteered to help get books to those who need them. I’m grateful to all the fantastic partners who joined us to help as many children as possible develop a love of reading.” 

Hachette Book Group partnered with more than 12 organizations across the country and Canada, including Macmillan Publishers, The Little Blue Pigeon Bookstore, Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, Brooklyn Book Bodega, Tree House Books, Start Lighthouse Literacy Hub at P.S./M.S. 5, 826NYC, Pittsfield Library, Reach Out and Read, Workhaus, Little Free Libraries, Barbershop Books, and 170 bookstores. With a commitment to Hachette’s Changing the Story business pillar, staff volunteer activities included reading to children in hospital waiting rooms and bookstores, supporting summer reading programs; tidying libraries and program spaces; and helping organizations prepare book donations for underserved children in diverse communities.  

Employees were also welcome to create their own volunteer opportunity in the spirit of Raising Readers, with many employees opting to volunteer at their local libraries or contributing to book donations and constructing Little Free Libraries in their area.  

All Hachette Book Group offices also created “reader” bracelets to accompany classroom library book donations to local Title I schools. These donations support the company’s commitment to curateclassroom libraries for at least 200 underfunded schools and educational programs in book deserts. At least 50,000 students will gain sustained access to books that support literacy, rehabilitation, and educational advancement. 

“Hosting Hachette Book Group’s volunteers in our Philadelphia and New York City offices was a joy. Their hands-on work—writing thank-you cards to our donors, assembling bookshelves, and organizing books for distribution—directly supports 67 local barbershop partners across both of our flagship cities,” said Dr. Angela Crumdy, Director of Programs and Research at Barber Shop Books. “These resources will reach more than 7,000 young boys monthly, inspiring them to see themselves as readers. We’re grateful to take part in the Raising Readers Volunteer Day and proud to partner with Hachette Book Group to help expand out-of-school reading opportunities.” 

Additionally, Tangie Wilson, Managing Director, Tree House Books said, “Here at Tree House Books, we not only function but thrive with community partnerships and collaboration.  On a huge day like yesterday, we couldn’t have gotten it all done without the hard work and care the group from Hachette contributed. We are always grateful for their participation and partnership.” 

As Hachette reaches the halfway point of 2026, we are proud to have fulfilled our 200th anniversary commitment of investing $200,000 in Raising Readers and we plan to further contribute to the campaignthroughout the year. Hachette has also supported 200 classroom libraries, mobilized more than 200 volunteers to deliver reading or literacy support, and is currently launching 200 Little Free Libraries in book deserts in partnership with Macmillan Publishers. 

On July 21, all Raising Readers partners will join Hachette to release a Public Service Announcement outlining the current reading crisis and how they can encourage children around them to pick up a book and read. 

Following our commitments and programs surrounding summer reading, Hachette is eager to kick off the 2026-2027 school year focused on our goal to host 200 author visits to classrooms (virtually or in-person) for immersive author sessions and read-alouds.  

Additionally, Raising Readers now has more than 50 partners across industries and independent bookstores working closely with Hachette to spread the joy of reading with kids around the world.  

About Hachette Book Group:    

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading U.S. general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group, Grand Central Publishing Group, Hachette Audio, Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit; Workman Publishing; and Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to several publishing companies.     

Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, James Beard Award, and other major honors.      

We are committed to diversity in our company and our publishing programs, and to fostering a culture of inclusion for all our employees and authors. We are proud to be part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest trade and educational publisher.      

Visit hachettebookgroup.com  to learn more about HBG imprints. For updated news follow HBG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, X.com, Snapchat, and YouTube.   

Press Contact: Gabrielle Gambrell, Chief Communications Officer, gabrielle.gambrell@hbgusa.com