When Josh Sanborn, Executive Director of Community Impact for the Ilitch Companies, participated in Cornerstone’s Partner Reading Day in 2025, he was immediately hooked.
“I think I personally read to second graders for an hour and a half. I was motivated instantly and wanted to bring more colleagues back,” he shared.
A Growing Commitment to Service
Tapping into the Ilitch Companies’ robust volunteer network—including colleagues from Little Caesars, the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers, and Olympia Development—Sanborn helped recruit a team of more than 20 enthusiastic volunteers. Together, they returned to Jefferson-Douglass Academy, filling classrooms with energy, encouragement, and a shared love of reading.
For many who participated, the experience was just as rewarding as it was impactful. Shaun McGowan, Talent Acquisition Manager for Little Caesars, reflected on his time with students and the importance of literacy and community involvement.
“The energy that we get from these kids—and helping these kids—is something that we’re going to continue to do a lot more of,” said McGowan. “We’re all about Detroit, born in Detroit. We have to make deposits into the community before we ask for withdrawals from the community.”
A Partnership Built Over Time
While this joint reading effort continues to grow, the partnership itself spans decades. In welcoming the volunteers before they entered classrooms, Cornerstone Schools Founder Clark Durant reflected on the long-standing relationship between Cornerstone and the Ilitch organization. He shared a poster featuring a Cornerstone student from the early 2000s and noted that three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander—who recently returned to the Detroit Tigers—also supported the schools, appearing in a 2009 Cornerstone commercial. (Watch video here)
A Partnership Built Over Time
While this joint reading effort continues to grow, the partnership itself spans decades. In welcoming the volunteers before they entered classrooms, Cornerstone Schools Founder Clark Durant reflected on the long-standing relationship between Cornerstone and the Ilitch organization. He shared a poster featuring a Cornerstone student from the early 2000s and noted that three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander—who recently returned to the Detroit Tigers—also supported the schools, appearing in a 2009 Cornerstone commercial. (Watch video here)
Living the Mission
Principal Monica Thompson emphasized how experiences like Partner Reading Day bring Cornerstone’s mission to life.
“It’s an amazing partnership,” she said. “It reinforces what we tell our students when we talk about a life of breadth in our mission—it’s being a person for others. The volunteers here today are showing our students that they could have been anywhere else, but they chose to spend their time with them. It’s a real-life example of being a person for others.”
Aligned Around Impact
The partnership also aligns closely with the Ilitch Companies’ broader commitment to Detroit. As Sanborn shared, “We’re always looking at how we can help Detroit students. Education and wellness in the youth space are critically important to us. This is a fantastic opportunity to be boots on the ground, especially during Reading Month.”
Beyond the books themselves, Partner Reading Day is about relationships. It’s about creating moments where curiosity is sparked, confidence is built, and students begin to see themselves in the stories they read—and in the people reading alongside them.
Why It Matters
For Sanborn, the impact is just as meaningful on the volunteer side.
“Seeing the excitement, the curiosity of these kids—it’s truly motivational,” he said. “It’s why I do the work that I do, and it’s why our colleagues love being involved. What’s happening here at Cornerstone—it’s magical.”