Community Outreach @rtp is a committee of the RTP Owners and Tenants Association that organizes RTP employees for volunteer opportunities and programs to benefit the greater Triangle.
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Community Outreach @rtp Committee is to develop and encourage opportunities for RTP companies and their employees to support the Triangle community in ways that allow them to have a positive influence on the lives of others, leveraging the interests of like-minded owners and tenants. This supports the Research Triangle Foundation’s vision to provide a better life for all North Carolinians through sustainable knowledge and technology-based development.
Focus:
Since its inception in 2008, Community Outreach @rtp has made education the main focus of its efforts.
Events and Opportunities:
RTP Books on Break
Book Drive
This annual campaign aims to place
books in the hands of students in need over the summer break. Books in
the home are the single biggest predictor of a child's academic
success. Yet more than half of America’s low-income kids own not a
single book, setting them up to fail in school and to perpetuate the
cycle of poverty.
- Time Frame: April 15th – May 15
- Partner Organizations: Book Harvest and Durham Public Schools
There are a few easy ways to participate:
- Between now and May 15th, simply drop your book donations in the specially marked bins located at RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive (and at the Food Truck Rodeo on the 18th). You company may be hosting drop off bins as well.
- If you don’t have gently used books at home to donate, please
consider purchasing new books:
- Buy books from Books on Break’s Amazon wish list and have them shipped directly to the RTP collection site: http://amzn.com/w/1HQGXBNUBPF0X (be sure to include the name of your company/employer in the gift message).
We need books for elementary school children (1st through 6th grade), from picture books to chapter books. And we are grateful for both new books and gently used books that your kids may have outgrown.
To learn more, please visit www.bookharvestnc.org and www.rtp.org/community. And if you’d like to host a drop off location at your office, we have sign templates and flyers available in the menu on the right side of this page. Please contact us if your company plans to participate so we can add you to the list of participants.
With generous donations from RTP employees throughout the Park, Community Outreach@rtp was able to collect a whopping 4,000 new and gently used books to aid the program during the 2012 campaign.
RTP Back2School
Backpack and School Supply Drive
This annual
campaign invites employees in The Research Triangle Park (and others) to
donate school supplies and backpacks just in time for the back to
school rush. Working in conjunction with Communities In Schools of Durham and Communities In Schools of Wake County, these much-needed supplies are distributed to students in both counties.
- Time Frame: Mid-July to Mid-August
- Partner Organizations: Communities In Schools of Durham and Communities In Schools of Wake County
- More information: www.rtpback2school.org
RTP Business Sector Education Program
This program aims to expose middle school children to the various business sectors in the Park, encouraging them to explore career opportunities in the sciences and helping to reinforce STEM education goals.
Partner Organization: Citizen Schools
Getting Involved
We are always welcoming new members from the RTP community to be a part of the committee. If your company would like to be a member of Community Outreach @rtp, please contact us.
Additonally, if you would like to be inovled with any of our projects, but are not a member of the committee, please contact us to find out how you can participate.
