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In observance of the holiday, the UGI Contact Center will be closed for non-emergencies on Friday, April 3. Our emergency line will remain open 24/7.  If you're experiencing a natural gas or electric emergency, call 800-276-2722 immediately from a safe place.
 
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Blog

Celebrating 35 Years of Partnering with Reading Is Fundamental

31 Mar 2026

The 2025-2026 school year marks the 35th year of UGI’s partnership with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) to spark a love of reading in the communities we serve! Since the start of the partnership in 1991, we have distributed more than 1.6 million books to more than 500,000 first-grade students in our service territory.

UGI employees participate in the program by using volunteer hours to visit local classrooms to read aloud or dress up as The Reading Wizard, a UGI-created mascot who shows students how magical reading can be. Since the start of the UGI-RIF partnership, UGI employees have spent over 20,000 hours volunteering for the program.

“I have been volunteering for RIF events since my first year at UGI in 2014. I always try to get to as many schools a year as I can. Spreading a love for reading makes me so happy and I’m grateful UGI provides this opportunity. Watching the children light up when they see our Reading Wizard and their thrill when picking out their new books is truly heartwarming,” says UGI volunteer Christina H.

To celebrate our 35th anniversary, UGI employees will assemble and deliver 600 literacy kits to six of the schools who have been involved in the program the longest. Each literacy kit contains three books, activity sheets, and a bookmark inside a UGI-RIF branded bag.

UGI Utilities is proud to partner with Reading Is Fundamental to inspire a love of reading in students across our service territory!

Follow UGI Utilities on Facebook (@UGIUtilities), Twitter (@UGI_Utilities), and Instagram (@ugiutilities) or visit https://www.ugi.com/community-programs to learn more about how UGI is supporting literacy in the community.

 

UGI-RIF Partnership Highlights

Original Reading Wizard costume.
The original Reading Wizard costume.
Henry Winkler standing with UGI employees.
Henry Winkler at the UGI-RIF 20th anniversary celebration.
Henry Winkler standing at podium reading his book.
Henry Winkler at the UGI-RIF 20th anniversary celebration.
The updated Reading Wizard reading a book.
The updated Reading Wizard costume.
A van parked next to a Penske truck used to deliver books to Lancaster students during COVID.
The moving truck that delivered more than 10,000 books to Lancaster students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UGI employee stands with first graders who have received their UGI-RIF literacy kits.
Employees assembled and distributed 1,800 literacy kits to schools in their communities.

1991: The UGI-RIF partnership begins! Two hundred UGI employees volunteer for RIF projects in the first year.

1996: UGI develops the Reading Wizard, a colorfully costumed character that shows students the magic of reading.

1997: UGI receives the Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service presented by the Points of Light Foundation.

2011: RIF and UGI celebrate the 20th anniversary of our partnership with a special celebration featuring keynote speaker, Henry Winkler.

2017: The Reading Wizard receives a makeover! The costume was updated to reflect the Reading Wizard we know and love today.

2020: RIF CEO, Alicia Levi, rents a moving truck to deliver 10,800 books to Lancaster School District, a longstanding UGI Utilities program site, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2025: Eighteen UGI offices volunteered to assemble a total of 1,800 literacy kits and distribute to schools in their communities.