New York, NY (May 17, 2004) -- Thousands of Michigan students, grades pre-K to 9th grade, participated in Scholastic Book Clubs ClassroomsCare program -- reading more than 350,000 books in order to give new books to children in need in their state and around the nation. As a result 250,000 new books donated by Scholastic Book Clubs are being distributed to underprivileged children throughout Michigan.
 
“I want to congratulate the children in Michigan who volunteered to read books in order to earn books for other Michigan children. We thank Scholastic Book Clubs and we salute the volunteer readers in 3,500 Michigan classrooms for their spirit of service and sharing. Their participation gives the Governor and me great pride and hope for the future,” said Daniel Granholm Mulhern, First Gentleman of the State of Michigan.
 
Scholastic Book Clubs ClassroomsCare program is a philanthropy-based literacy campaign designed to teach children about the joys and importance of reading and giving. In classrooms all across the country, students read 100 books (from September through December this school year), and in turn, Scholastic Book Clubs, a division of Scholastic, the global children's media and publishing company, donated a total of two million new books to disadvantaged children nationwide.
 
“Through the ClassroomsCare initiative, kids in Michigan and all across the country are learning a powerful lesson - that the simple act of one child reading can actually make a difference in the life of another child who doesn't own a book,” said Judy Newman, Senior Vice President, Scholastic Book Clubs. “ClassroomsCare helps Scholastic Book Clubs make strides toward fulfilling our mission to put a book into the hands of every child.”
 
Two charity partners will see that the books arriving in Michigan are placed in the hands of children in need: First Book, a national nonprofit agency dedicated to providing children from low-income families their first new books, and Michigan Friends of Education, a local nonprofit organization that promotes literacy by distributing free books to needy children and adults.
 
“Over the past three years, Scholastic Book Clubs has donated millions of books to First Book, and their 2003 ClassroomsCare initiative was better than ever,” said President of First Book, Kyle Zimmer.
 
"This gift of 250,000 new Scholastic Book Clubs books from First Book will help Michigan Friends of Education make an impact on the lives of thousands of children in need" said Donald M. Porter, Executive Director, Michigan Friends of Education.
 
For 55 years, Scholastic Book Clubs have provided monthly catalogues offering top quality books and reading materials from all publishers to teachers in pre-school through junior high. Today eleven different Scholastic Book Clubs reach one million teachers each month, providing the most sought-after titles at affordable prices for children in classrooms nationwide. The ClassroomsCare Campaign is available to teachers and classrooms through five of the Scholastic Book Clubs: Firefly® Book Club for pre-schoolers; Seesaw® Book Club for kindergarten and grade 1; Lucky® Book Club for grades 2-3; Arrow® Book Club for grades 4-6; and TAB® Book Club for grades 7 and up.
 
About First Book
First Book is a national nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. The First Book National Book Bank (www.nationalbookbank.org ) is a subsidiary program of First Book. In neighborhoods across the country, First Book unites leaders from all sectors to provide books to children in literacy programs, housing project initiatives, after-school programs and other community-based efforts reaching children living below the poverty line. In the last three years, First Book distributed over 20 million books to children in hundreds of communities across the country. For more information about First Book or to donate a book to a child in need, please visit www.firstbook.org .
 
About Michigan Friends of Education
Since 1983, over 10 million new books and items have been donated to 46 counties in Michigan. Michigan Friends of Education, a nonprofit organization located in Gregory Michigan promotes literacy by distributing free books to needy children and adults. Donald H. Porter, who was Director of the Migrant and Bilingual Program for Stockbridge Community Schools, established our Organization in 1983. When he learned that he might be able to receive free books from a publisher that was going out of business, he immediately accepted the donation of one million books. Michigan Friends of Education has continued to receive and distribute free books to the needy in Michigan ever since.
 
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company's Internet Site, www.scholastic.com.

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