In late 2019, Atlassian celebrated 10 incredible years of partnership with Room to Read, supporting global change through education – one community, one classroom, one child at a time.
From humble beginnings
Today, Room to Read is a global education movement; But it all began with one man’s journey.
Our Founders first learned about John Wood and Room to Read after picking up a copy of his book “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.” Inspired by his story, Scott and Mike formed a partnership with Room to Read with a plan to raise $25,000 to build five new libraries.
The plan was simple: Sell Atlassian’s starter software licenses for five days for five dollars, and give the proceeds to Room to Read. By the end of the 5th day, we had raised over $100,000.
Today we have invested more than US$10 million in Room to Read’s life-changing programs. This includes the individual contributions made by Atlassians through our “Dollars-A-Day” Workplace Giving program. Over 50% of the company participates in this program consistently.
The impact
Atlassian’s impact on the lives of children in developing countries has been ground-breaking. Helping change the lives of more than 250,000 eager young learners, as well as funding almost 23,000 years of girls’ education. In summary:
In the 10 years of partnering with Room to Read, we have:
- Invested USD 10M in Room to Read including $1.55M through Dollars-a-Day Workplace Giving Program
- 250,000+ children reached through the literacy program
- 13 schools constructed
- 177 libraries
- 4,270 years worth of Girls Education through Dollars-a-Day
- 19,572 years’ worth of Girls Education through Foundation Grants
- Children in Room to Read programs are reading twice as fast as children in comparable schools
- Governments around the world are asking to adopt the Room to Read programs
- Room to Read continues to grow and expand, reaching nearly 20 Million kids in total.
