Business News
Youth Nationwide Help “Fast Break To Reading” Program Surpass 500,000 Minutes of Reading Time This Summer
Friday 24. July 2009 - National Literacy Initiative with Pitney Bowes and the WNBA Is More Than Half-Way to One Million Minutes Goal
Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) and the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced today that youth nationwide have collectively read for more than 500,000 minutes in the “Fast Break To Reading” program. The joint initiative between Pitney Bowes and the WNBA encourages young students to read throughout the summer and track their minutes at http://www.wnba.com/fbtr/. The goal is for youth to collectively reach one million minutes of reading time.
“Literacy and education are critical to an individuals self-sufficiency and success,” said Juanita James, chief marketing and communications officer, Pitney Bowes. “We are delighted to see so many young students reading and participating in the Fast Break To Reading program this summer and look forward to reaching the goal of one million minutes of reading time at the end of the season.”
“When we launched this initiative earlier this season, we thought it would be a great opportunity for our young fans to participate in a fun program where they can also learn about the importance of education and reading,” said WNBA President Donna Orender. “We are thrilled to see that we are half-way to the one million minutes goal and applaud everyone for their efforts.”
Ten WNBA teams are participating in the Fast Break To Reading program: the Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Detroit Shock, Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics. Each team tipped-off a local program in June in collaboration with a local literacy organization. The teams have also been working with Pitney Bowes to hold Reading Timeouts to read to area youth and speak about the importance of reading.
As the nonprofit literacy organization for the national program, the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is also helping to raise awareness of literacy and education, encouraging young students to participate and offering tips for families on how to make reading more fun and effective this summer.