In Småland, we are a little extra proud right now as we have recently entered into a collaboration with Växjö Lakers to digitize the project “Läsa med Lakers/Read with Lakers.” With a renewed digital focus, this collaboration combines our technical expertise with Växjö Lakers’ commitment to community benefit.

• We are, of course, incredibly proud of the opportunity to inspire, motivate, and contribute to increased literacy among children, says Åse Thuveson, CEO of Softhouse in Småland. We have been involved in software development for almost 30 years and are well aware that everything starts with people and that knowledge sharing is an important part of our DNA. It was natural for us to be part of the digital boost of the project and to engage in something that can make a real difference to the youth of Växjö.

Växjö Lakers started the Read with Lakers project in 2018. The project was forced into an involuntary pause when a pandemic broke out and prevented school visits. Read with Lakers is based on players from the Växjö Lakers representative team visiting selected schools in Växjö Municipality and talking about and highlighting the importance of reading. The players also get to talk about their favorite books from childhood and sign autographs for the students.

• Read with Lakers is an important and meaningful project for both us as an organization, and for our players who get to broaden their horizons and hopefully inspire students to read and the importance of literacy, says Hanna Södergren, project manager for Read with Lakers, and continues.
• It is gratifying that we can digitize part of the project and Softhouse is a significant partner where we together have created a platform for the project. It feels very good to be able to launch the project and start with school visits in the middle of January.

This year, six school visits are conducted, and each visit ends with the students receiving a challenge from the players where they are to read for a quarter of an hour every day for a month.

• During the month that the project is running, the students receive encouraging messages from us players. If the class completes the challenge, we welcome the class to come and cheer for us during a home match in February, says Växjö Lakers captain Joel Persson.

In the project, Växjö Lakers collaborates with the software company Softhouse, which has built and designed an application where students receive short pep talks from the players. In the app, students check a box for every quarter they read, to ultimately reach a “goal” where a nice surprise awaits.

• We think the combination of a visually appealing digital experience of reading inspiration from our local hockey heroes is very successful, and if it turns out well, we will do another season. In the project, I hope we can show what software can achieve and stimulate an increased interest in tech early in age. For the future’s new developers are needed, and it starts with them cultivating their interest in reading, Åse concludes with a smile on her lips.

Participating schools were selected in consultation with Therese Dahl, coordinator for primary schools in Växjö Municipality. Schools: Östregårdskolan, Lillestadskolan, Ljungfälleskolan, Furutåskolan, Ulriksbergskolan, Centrumskolan.

“Everything starts with people. Our knowledge, experience, and competence is what you hire us for. With honesty, the extra question, and the desire for you and your business to thrive, we will have a real partnership” Åse Thuveson, CEO Softhouse

Contact
Åse Thuveson
CEO, Softhouse Småland AB
073-856 90 32
ase.thuveson@softhouse.se

Hanna Södergren
Communicator, Växjö Lakers
0470-32 97 00
hanna.sodergren@vaxjolakers.se