Baltimore, MD (June 17, 2003) -- Reading Is Fundamental (RIF®), the nation's oldest and largest children's and family literacy organization, joined Verizon, Scholastic Inc., U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-07), and Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore to kick off a Summer Reading Journey, a national public awareness campaign to promote summer reading and deliver literacy resources to selected public libraries across the country.
 
Verizon is funding the effort and Scholastic is providing books and other resources aimed at ensuring that children are engaged in educational activities over the summer. The campaign, which features Scholastic's The Magic School Bus®, Ms. Frizzle™ of The Magic School Bus, and RIF's spokes-creature Riffington, will provide fun summer reading resources to 200 public libraries in urban and rural communities in all 50 states.
 
Each participating library will receive a Summer Reading Journey kit complete with Verizon Literacy Champion activity posters featuring Scholastic's The Magic School Bus, bookmarks, reading resource booklets for librarians, and a collection of books from Scholastic's The Magic School Bus series.
 
Ms. Frizzle and The Magic School Bus have been named Verizon Literacy Champions in support of this campaign. The Literacy Champions program is part of the Verizon Reads literacy awareness campaign. Verizon partners with celebrities in communities nationwide to give literacy a familiar face, bring attention to the issue, and raise awareness and funds for the cause of literacy.
 
Verizon Reads, an umbrella organization for Verizon's support of improving literacy in America, donated $150,000 toward the Summer Reading Journey initiative. Established in 1999, Verizon Reads is dedicated to fight for a more literate America through meaningful programs that create awareness, raise funds, support a wide diversity of literacy programs and encourage collaboration among literacy organizations nationwide.
 
“Maryland's economic health depends on a skilled and literate work force, and reading plays a critical role,” said William R. Roberts, president of Verizon Maryland. “Verizon promotes a more literate America through meaningful programs that help people gain the skills they need to compete in the workplace.”
 
A long-time supporter of RIF, Scholastic Inc. provided books and resources for the effort. “We are thrilled that Scholastic's The Magic School Bus is the centerpiece for this campaign,” says Karen Proctor, Vice President, Community Relations, Scholastic. “It has inspired millions of kids to get into reading and explore the world around them.”
 
RIF selected the libraries with support from the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, and Libraries for the Future. “Libraries play a vital role in communities during the summer,” said Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. “In many instances, libraries are the only source of reading resources for children who do not have access to books at home.”
 
“Literacy rates are alarming in this country especially among children in urban areas,” says Carla D. Hayden, Ph.D., executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and president-elect of the American Library Association. “As a former children's librarian, I know the importance of supporting learning even while student's are on vacation. ALA and the Enoch Pratt Free Library are proud to be beneficiaries of this critical initiative.”
 
“Family Place Libraries provide welcoming spaces and vital programs for children and their families,” said Liz Gordon, Executive Director of Libraries for the Future. “And we are delighted that they have this wonderful opportunity to extend their service to children through Reading Is Fundamental's Summer Reading Journey.”
 
The importance of providing reading resources to children during the summer is illustrated in a recent report on the effects of summer learning loss. According to a November 2002 report by Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning, all students experience significant learning loss as a result of summer vacation. “A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year…. It's common for teachers to spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That month of re-teaching eliminates a month that could have been spent on teaching new information and skills.”
 
Visit www.rif.org/summer to download the Summer Reading Journey poster, activity booklet and other great summer reading materials. To learn more about this initiative visit www.rif.org, verizonreads.net or www.scholastic.com. 
 
 
 
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), Through a national, grassroots network of 435,000 community volunteers, RIF, the nation's oldest and largest children's and family literacy organization, last year provided 16 million new, free books and other essential literacy resources to nearly 5 million children.
 
A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 136.6 million access line equivalents and 33.3 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is the third-largest long-distance carrier for U.S. consumers, with 13.2 million long-distance lines, and the company is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. With approximately $67 billion in annual revenues and 227,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.
 
Scholastic Corporation (NMS: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, textbooks, 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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