Mountain View and East Palo Alto, USA - August 3, 2017:
Five thousand books are being donated to students in the Mountain View and East Palo Alto area throughout August as a result of a partnership between Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, and First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that has delivered more than 160 million books and educational resources to programs and schools with children in need.
The books will be distributed to registered First Book members in the Mountain View and East Palo Alto area, providing additional education resources in the community where Wipro employees live and work. The books will be used to stock classroom libraries, facilitate reading circles and help students build their home libraries.
Launched in 1998, the First Book National Book Bank is the first and only centralized distribution system for large-scale children’s book donations from publishers to schools and programs serving kids in need. The National Book Bank distributes 10 million books annually, and with Wipro’s support, 19,000 of these books will be donated to schools and programs in Mountain View, East Palo Alto, Boston, Seattle, and Indianapolis.
"Wipro is excited to further engage with the community through its contribution to the critical importance of access to books," said Anurag Behar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Wipro Ltd. "We hope that our reading-focused efforts in Mountain View and East Palo Alto will allow students to continue learning throughout the month of August, helping in shaping their future."
Since 2015, Wipro and First Book have partnered together to distribute over 118,000 books throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a goal of distributing over 200,000 books to children in need, as part of their three-year partnership.
Book ownership and a print-rich environment are leading indicators of a child’s educational success, but for the 32 million children growing up in low-income families in the U.S. alone, books are scarce. A recent study found that in one low-income neighborhood, there was only one book for more than 800 children, whereas in moderate income neighborhoods, there are 13 books for every one child.
First Book, which has operations in both the U.S. and Canada, works with formal and informal educators serving children in need aged between 0-18 years in a wide range of settings - from schools, classrooms, summer school and parks and recreational programs, to health clinics, homeless shelters, faith-based programs, libraries, museums, summer food sites and more. The organization supports nearly one in four of the 1.3 million classrooms and programs that are serving children in need in the U.S. alone.
"Wipro and its employees in Mountain View, Palo Alto, and all over the U.S. support their local communities by spreading First Book’s mission to bring the transformative power of books to children in need," said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. "Through the support and dedication of Wipro employees, tens of thousands of children will have the tools to fuel learning and unlock their futures."
Wipro has over 40 facilities across 23 states in the U.S. Recently, the company launched a multi-million dollar Silicon Valley Innovation Center in Mountain View, designed to develop and showcase next-generation technologies and solutions for enterprises. Wipro has partnered with leading Bay Area technology companies, start-ups and academia to continuously evolve in the digital transformation space. The center has also incubated a ‘Digital Pod’, purpose-built for Wipro’s digital strategy, design and engineering teams to work in a collaborative and adaptive workspace, along with clients.
About First Book
First Book transforms the lives of children in need. Through a sustainable, market-driven model, First Book is creating equal access to quality education - making everything from brand-new, high-quality books and educational resources to sports equipment and snacks affordable to its member network of more than 325,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need. Since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 160 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families in more than 30 countries. First Book currently reaches an average of 3 million children every year and supports more than one in four of the estimated 1.3 million educators serving children in need. With an additional 1,000 educators joining each week, First Book is the largest and fastest-growing network of educators in the United States exclusively serving kids in need. Eligible educators, librarians, providers, and others serving children in need can sign up at firstbook.org/register. For more information, please visit firstbook.org or follow the latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
About Wipro Limited
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have over 160,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future.
Media Contacts:
Melanie Boyer
First Book
(o) 202-639-0144
mboyer@firstbook.org
Prathibha Das
Wipro Limited
prathibha.das@wipro.com
Brent Curry
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
(o) 312-255-3086
brent.curry@hkstrategies.com
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.
