Penguin Random House India upholds its responsibility to give back to the community that has embraced our books wholeheartedly. We are committed to contributing to social causes and their developments. From making reading accessible to leaving behind an eco-friendly footprint, we have remained true to our vision to becoming a publishing company that spreads the joy of reading with an environment-friendly approach.
Our social responsibility initiatives focus on two priority areas:
Reading and Literacy
Penguin Random House India collaborates with leading non-profit organizations to support learning, reading and literacy programs. With the aim to uplift the indigent communities, we back book donation drives, promote reading fluency programs and contribute to community libraries.
Year after year, we have sponsored school education for young learners and women, and supported programmes that aid abandoned children and their all-round development.
Our books have strengthened both community and government school libraries and ensured that these institutions are empowered enough to offer an enriching experience to their readers. Also, Penguin employees volunteer to assist in reading sessions at local community literacy programs.
Environment and Sustainability
We have undertaken tree plantation drives and the responsibility to manage the trees planted under such initiatives. Inside our office, we have introduced small, manageable changes to collectively reduce our impact on the planet.
We are also focused on reducing consumption of plastic and printing, and we motivate our teams to build green spaces around them.
If you have a proposal for our focus areas, please write to PRH people@penguinrandomhouse.in
To view PRH India CSR Policy .
Gaurav Shrinagesh – Director, Penguin Random House India
Sanjiv Gupta – Director, Penguin Random House India
Aditi Kumar – CSR Advisor, Penguin Random House India
PRHI has a steadfast commitment to ‘The Community Library Project’ (TCLP), an initiative that embodies our vision of education, inclusivity, and community upliftment. Our partnership with TCLP continues to flourish, as we proudly support the core projects and operations of the Khirki Extension Branch Library, New Delhi.
Our efforts to build a robust community library program aimed at fostering reading and thinking skills in young minds, especially those who are first-generation readers. Additionally, the project serves a diverse and under-served population, including over 3750 children and adults. It also includes migrant families, or refugees from different countries. Our initiative aims to make a meaningful impact on their lives by providing access to educational resources and opportunities.
Here’s a breakdown of the 2023 CSR program highlights:
This project is helping bridge educational gaps, promote literacy, and provide essential life skills to a diverse group of individuals. By offering such a comprehensive program, we are not only enriching their lives but also contributing to the broader goal of creating a publicly owned, free library system accessible to all.
Vipla Foundation, STCI, stands as a distinguished non-profit organization dedicated to realizing India’s vision as a Child-Friendly Nation. With a steadfast commitment to eradicating exploitation and discrimination against vulnerable women and children, the foundation empowers them to embrace lives of dignity, self-respect, and independence. Through initiatives such as pre-school readiness programs and diverse support classes, they actively work towards this transformative goal.
In alignment with its corporate social responsibility initiatives, PRHI has generously extended financial support to the Vipla Foundation for its two centres in the Delhi NCR region. The program’s primary objective is to furnish early childhood care and education services, aiming for comprehensive development encompassing physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language facets. Additionally, the program endeavors to instill a culture of regular school attendance among the children, nurturing their holistic growth and future prospects.
PRHI has been sponsoring early childhood care and education for young kids to further school readiness support. Our partner, Bal Raksha Bharat, commonly known as Save the Children India, is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of marginalized children in India since 2008. The program aims at supporting children’s of migrant workers in Malda Kolkatta, providing them with a day-care and learning centre, ensuring age-appropriate physical growth, and acquiring learning competencies after which children are mainstreamed in Government schools for further retention. These centres act as the prime education resource centres for migrant and other village children. Our sponsorship will cover the running cost of several such centres impacting roughly 1500 children mostly girls in different age brackets. The project also looks at building an enabling learning environment by creating educational concepts on the walls of the school to enhance visual learning and comprehension.
Through our continuous partnership with ‘The Community Library Project’ (TCLP), we aim to build a robust community library program that aims at building reading and thinking skills in young minds by introducing them to books at an early age most of who are first-generation readers. TCLP a non-profit charitable public trust that is committed to the work of building the movement for a publicly owned, free library system that is accessible to all. They currently run 3 community libraries in Delhi NCR.
PRHI is sponsoring their Community Library in the under-served neighbourhood of Khirki Extension, New Delhi. At present this library serves over 3500 children and adults, most of whom are first-generation learners, come from migrant families, or are refugees from other countries. The library program includes 1) conducting reading fluency programs to enhance the speed of reading, 2) read-aloud sessions, 3) community walks to encourage parents and kids towards learning, 4) additional workshops that focus on health and well-being, gender sensitivity, and science workshops to enhance and support supplementary learning, 5) cyber workshops to orient youngsters to laptop usage and internet navigation.
Earth Day Network India, an environmental organization engaged in corporate social responsibility endeavors, emphasizes the promotion of environmental sustainability, ecological equilibrium, safeguarding of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, preservation of natural resources, and the maintenance of soil, air, and water quality.
To contribute to environmental welfare, PRHI partnered with the Earth Day Network to facilitate the planting of 500 trees on Majuli River Island, Assam. This island faces significant peril due to extensive soil erosion along its banks. Therefore, this plantation initiative will involve the cultivation of indigenous plants and fruit-bearing trees, which will fortify the soil, stabilize the terrain, and mitigate erosion risks during floods. Furthermore, it will offer nutritious fruits to the local community, aiding in combating malnutrition and supplementing their incomes.
Through our past partnership with The Community Library Project , we have been able to help them build a community library to run a reading fluency program which reached 300 children in 2019-20. 300 children were able to read fluently, and to take real steps in the direction of becoming lifelong readers
For 2021, we continued with this program which has been adapted for online classes. The year 2021 made it difficult for TCLP to operate physical libraries and hence TCLP’s response to loss of reading programs at the libraries during the pandemic was an initiative called : Duniya Sabki, an online library and WhatsApp based read aloud program which reaches 1300 members and their circle. And further initiate Reading Fluency Program, designed for remote learning for 90 children through the remainder of the year.
In order to give back to the environment , we have tied up with “Give me Trees Trust” a Delhi-based NGO working to plant trees with the help of community volunteers for a plantation drive donating 100 plus saplings. ‘Give Me Trees Trust’ is planting over million trees attempting to bring about a lasting change in our neighbourhoods, creating healthier environments and getting communities excited about it
Vipla Foundation, STCI is a reputed non-profit organization, engaged in envisioning India as a Child-Friendly Nation and is committed to preventing exploitation and all other forms of discrimination against children. PRHI in its CSR endeavors has financially supported Vipla Foundation to help them provide pre-primary education to children for their all-around development that includes physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development. The aim of the program is to provide quality education to the children of slum dwellers in their nearby vicinities and remotely by engaging parents and teachers as mentors, thereby facilitating the transition of kids into the formal schooling system.
