When the parent of a student at iHOPE saw a post on their social media about a group from Salesforce coming in to volunteer, she thought, ‘Can my company do that too?’ A few months later, she and seven other volunteers from BNP Paribas Bank spent the day at iHOPE, working on various projects to support the school and its students.  

The group helped prepare core word materials by cutting and laminating word and letter books for the students to use in the classroom. After creating the adapted materials, a few of the volunteers visited iHOPE’s book fair and read to the students there. Another pair of volunteers went to a classroom and read the students a book about the solar system.  

“The students used their communication devices to communicate back and forth with the readers,” said Amy Sigona, Associate Director of Corporate Partnerships at YAI. “They said things like ‘stop,’ ‘turn the page,’ ‘show me.’ It was really neat.”  

For Sigona, getting companies to engage with people we support is mutually beneficial.  

“I think what the volunteers got most out of this was an exposure to students who have unique needs,” Sigona said. “It’s important to have corporations get involved because it helps to foster a greater awareness of DEI and the importance of ability being a part of that.” 

If you or your company would like to get involved with YAI, visit the Corporate Partnerships page to learn more, or contact us