NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– JetBlue launched its fourteenth annual Soar with Reading initiative, this year in partnership with Little Free Library, with a commemorative book sharing event at Centro Tau Community Center in Loíza, Puerto Rico. Proud to be Puerto Rico’s largest airline, JetBlue together with Little Free Library have placed seven library book-sharing boxes across Puerto Rico, creating increased access to literature for all ages.
“We are excited to bring our beloved Soar with Reading program to the island for the first time, helping connect more youth with the joys of reading and imagination,” said Icema Gibbs, vice president of CSR and DEI, JetBlue. “With seven physical Little Free Library book-sharing boxes placed within key community centers across Puerto Rico, we demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to valuable educational resources for our crewmembers, customers and the communities we serve.”
Since 2015, JetBlue’s award-winning Soar with Reading initiative has tackled the issue of book availability in underserved communities where access to age-appropriate books for children is often limited. JetBlue and Little Free Library book-sharing boxes or ‘libraries’ are now available to residents within Puerto Rico’s Aguadilla, Ponce and San Juan communities. Each time someone visits a book-sharing box, they will have the opportunity to both leave and take home an assortment of new books, completely free of charge. The libraries, housed within local, high-traffic community centers, hold a varied selection of titles in both English and Spanish and allow visitors the opportunity to browse and choose a book with representative titles, authors, as well as suggested reading levels. To date, JetBlue, through its Soar with Reading initiative, has donated more than $4 million worth of books to children in need.
“It is an honor to be working with JetBlue in Puerto Rico to expand book access in partnership with their Soar with Reading program. Little Free Library believes that everyone should have the opportunity to be inspired by a personally relevant book, and that opportunity should not be limited by age, income or geography. Success in that mission relies on the combination of corporate support, community organizations and local volunteers. We are fortunate to be able to work with JetBlue and its crewmembers, JetBlue’s publisher partners, and the local community champions where the Little Free Library book-sharing boxes will be placed,” said Greig Metzger, Little Free Library Executive Director.
Publishing partners include Barefoot Books, Harper Collins, Lil’ Libros, Penguin Random House, Quarto, Scholastic and Somos Uno. JetBlue and Little Free Library book-sharing boxes are now within the following community centers across Aguadilla, Ponce and San Juan, Puerto Rico:
- Isabela Boys & Girls Club of Puerto Rico, Ave. Juan Hernández, next to the police station, Isabela, Puerto Rico
- The Gogo Foundation, 1123 Avenida Hostos, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Las Margaritas Boys & Girls Club of Puerto Rico, Eduardo Conde Avenue Res.
- Las Margaritas, Santurce, PR
- Carolina Boys & Girls Club of Puerto Rico, In front of Polideportivo Guillermo Angulo, Calle 24, Carolina, Puerto Rico
- Centro TAU Community Center, C4G9+59P, Loíza, 00772, Puerto Rico
- The Flight Park, CXPQ+R5G, Carolina, 00979, Puerto Rico
- The San Jorge Hospital, 258 C. San Jorge, San Juan, 00912, Puerto Rico
Since becoming a part of Puerto Rico in 2002, JetBlue has maintained its commitment to giving back to the Boricua community. JetBlue and its crewmembers have supported numerous charitable causes on the island by donating time to a variety of initiatives. Through this Soar with Reading program, and in partnership with Little Free Library, JetBlue seeks to provide access to books in a fun and convenient way throughout la Isla del Encanto, hoping to inspire a life-long love of reading.
This initiative also comes as JetBlue seeks to increase connectivity to and from Puerto Rico, including adding more destinations within Latin America, the Caribbean and in the U.S. East Coast. Most recently, JetBlue introduced the airline’s popular Mint® premium service between New York and San Juan and announced its intent to apply with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for slot exemptions to operate a second daily nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan. In addition to these route enhancements, JetBlue will open a new pilot and flight attendant crew base in San Juan, with the first phase set to open by end of 2024, and by 2025 bring more than 400 local jobs to San Juan. Currently, JetBlue employs over 370 crewmembers across Puerto Rico, supporting the airline's operations in San Juan, Aguadilla, and Ponce.
JetBlue For Good® – Soar with Reading is a signature program of JetBlue For Good, the airline’s initiative for social impact and corporate responsibility. Giving back is part of JetBlue’s DNA and is core to its mission of bringing humanity back to air travel. Centered around volunteerism and service, JetBlue For Good initiatives focus on the areas that are most important to the airline’s customers and crewmembers like community service and youth/education initiatives.
