The power of one click is something Symantec knows well. But sometimes a single click can do great things, like helping win a grant to benefit a children’s charity.
Symantec employee, Melaney Smith, is a Senior Principle Information Security Analyst with the Global Security Office (GSO) in Atlanta. She is also the founder ofBooks for Keeps, a charity that puts books into the hands of underserved children.
Melaney is one of this year’s L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth honoree finalists, a program that awards grants to worthy charities. She is being recognized globally for her incredible contributions and is in the running to win a $25,000 grant to expand the work of her charity.
Winners will be determined by the number of votes each nominee’s video receives. Symantec employees can help support a colleague and put even more books in the hands of some very deserving children to promote reading.
Simply visit Melaney’s Women of Worth page and click “Vote to Support.” One little click can make a big difference, and you can vote once per day, per email address, until 20 November.
Melaney launched Books for Keeps in 2009 to help get books into the hands of underserved children in her community for summer reading programs. Since then, Books for Keeps has put more than 200,000 books into the hands of children.
Melaney has been recognized before at Symantec for her volunteerism. Even so, she is still surprised at being recognized in the global spotlight.
“I am still a little bit in shock that my program was recognized,” Melaney said. “Bringing books to kids and promoting reading is something I am personally very passionate about and believe has great value in the world. But I never expected this level of global attention. It really motivates me to do even more for children.”
Melaney says winning a grant like this would enable the Books for Keeps program to expand into additional schools.
“Winning this grant would help us reach so many more children,” she said. “I hope to put the power of the Symantec culture and social media behind this, and I really need the help of my colleagues around the world to make it happen.”
Learn more about Melaney’s inspiring journey to launch Books for Keeps, and how she created a program that reaches thousands of children each year in her community through the power of reading.