At Kia of Mankato, being Community Driven means more than selling and servicing vehicles. It means finding ways to be part of the community we call home and sometimes, that means putting the cars aside and opening a book.

Last week, Kia of Mankato launched the first month of Driven to Read, a new literacy program created in partnership with Roosevelt Elementary School in Mankato. Throughout the school year, our Kia team will visit with first-grade students each month to read together, introduce a new theme, and encourage a lifelong love of reading.

The idea for Driven to Read began more than a year ago. We wanted to create a community program that could make a lasting impact, not just something that happened once and was over. When we brought the idea to our General Manager, Joe, his response was simple:

“I love it. Let’s do it.”

With the help of Roosevelt Elementary Principal Mrs. Kruize, that idea became a real program.

And then came the part we had been looking forward to most: meeting the kids.

Our First Theme: Kindness

For our first month, we chose a theme that felt like the perfect place to begin: kindness.

Our Kia team read with the students, talked about what kindness looks like in everyday life, and shared a book connected to the theme. Each student also received their own copy of the book to take home and add to their personal library, along with a special Driven to Read bookmark.

The students were genuinely excited to see us. They were eager to listen, participate, and perhaps most importantly, find out what was inside the book they would get to take home.

When we told them that each student would receive a book of their very own, the excitement grew even bigger. For our team, it was a pretty special moment, too.

“Are You Giving Your Book Away?”

One little moment from our first visit is one we won't soon forget.

After finishing reading the book to the class, one of the boys asked our Marketing Manager if she was going to give her book away. She told him yes. He immediately asked if he could have it.

When he received the book, he hugged it and carried it back to his desk. Then, after hearing that the Kia team would be returning the following month, he asked, “I can read this book until then and then I have to return it?” She told him that the book was his to keep and that when we came back next month, he would get another one. The smile on his face and the excitement in his eyes told me everything we needed to know.

That is exactly why we wanted to create Driven to Read.

A Special Connection to Roosevelt

For our Marketing Manager, being part of this program at Roosevelt Elementary made the first visit even more meaningful.

She has her own history with Roosevelt. She was once a Roosevelt Raccoon herself, and her children attended the school as well. Walking back into the school in a completely different role, to bring something we had created with the Kia team to the students, was a pretty special full-circle moment. But what stood out most wasn't her connection to the school. It was seeing how excited the students were to read. That excitement was contagious.

Our Kia Team Felt It, Too

The students weren't the only ones smiling.

Our Controllers, who participated, were smiling throughout the entire visit. More than once, they told us that this was one of the best things they had ever participated in through work and that they were happy to be included. That reaction meant a lot because community involvement isn't just about what we give to a community, it's also about what we gain by being willing to show up, participate, and build relationships.Our team left Roosevelt feeling just as excited as we were when we arrived. Maybe even more so.

One Book. One Theme. One Month at a Time.

Driven to Read is designed to continue throughout the school year.

Each month, the Kia team will return to Roosevelt Elementary with a new book and a new theme designed to encourage important lessons for young readers. Students will continue building their own personal libraries, collecting new bookmarks, and hopefully discovering that reading can be something they look forward to.

Our hope is simple. We hope these students remember that the Kia crew was there cheering them on throughout their school journey. We hope we can encourage their love of reading, even in a small way. And we hope that when they see a Kia vehicle around Mankato someday, they remember that there was a group of people behind that logo who showed up to read with them.

Because being Community Driven means more than selling cars.

Sometimes, it means turning the page together.