Bank, bookstore shower Hanson Elementary with books

From the minute you open a book, you have worlds to explore, Samantha Rayball told Hanson Elementary students gathered for a morning presentation.

A row of stacked boxes separated the students from Rayball and other speakers at the recent outdoor event.

“Wow!” an enthusiastic crowd of about 500 students said when they learned that the boxes housed 1,084 books, a gift for the school’s library and classrooms.

“The best thing about a book is you get to go on a journey and you never have to leave the safety of your classroom and your home,” said Rayball, assistant manager of Barnes & Nobles’ store in Carmel Mountain Ranch.

Hanson Elementary parent Chris Weissmann, who knew about City National Bank’s “Reading Is the Way Up” program, connected with the bank before the Christmas holiday. The bank formed a partnership with Barnes & Noble, and each time a customer made a purchase, “the cashier asked if they wanted to buy a book for the students at Hanson Elementary,” said Carolyn Rodriguez, program administrator and marketing vice president for City National Bank in Los Angeles.

“Every book on this stage is from someone who said that ‘I loved this book and I want you to have it,’” David McMeekin with the Barnes & Noble store said, explaining that he had asked customers, “What’s the book that you loved as a child?”

“We want to make sure you have a lot of books to read,” said Rodriguez.

Assisting Rodriguez at the presentation were Brian Farnam, City National Bank’s branch manager in Carlsbad, and Blue, the bank’s “Reading Is the Way Up” mascot.

The program is part of the bank’s outreach for education, Rodriguez told the students, adding that Blue’s outfit includes a ladder.

“Reading can help you climb the ladder on the way up,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully, you’ll get a job in banking. You’ll have to know how to read, so it’s important to us that you have as many books as you can.”

Hanson Elementary Principal Chris Gunnett’s smile turned to an expression of amazement when Farnam presented him with the bank’s certificate for $5,500 credit to buy more books for the school. With the bank’s corporate discount, the school can purchase about $7,300 worth of books, Farnam said.

Hanson Elementary parent and volunteer Heather Weissmann helped her husband with the project. Their son Cole is a third-grader at the school.