New York,
NY (November
29,
2004) --
On Friday, December 3rd, millions of children around the world will join together to participate in Scholastic Read For 2005, the sixth annual reading initiative created by Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company. The read-a-thon encourages children, parents, and teachers to read for 2,005 seconds (approximately 33 1/3 minutes), to celebrate the importance and joy of reading on this day and throughout the new year. Last year, over 1 million children, 24,000 classrooms spanning 37 countries joined together to celebrate their love of books.
This year more than half of our nation's Gubernatorial Spouses will serve as Scholastic Read For 2005 Ambassadors of Reading. Each First Lady or Gentleman participating will send a message to his/her state and to the nation about the importance of reading by hosting reading events at schools, libraries or state capitals. Each Ambassador of Reading will also receive 500 books from Scholastic Book Clubs to donate to a school, library or charity of his/her choice.
“Scholastic Read For 2005 creates a unique opportunity for children and adults from around the world to connect with one another through the joy of reading. Thanks to the sincere efforts and dedication of this year's participating governors' spouses and the support of American Airlines, NBC Universal and the U.S. Department of State, the message of the importance of reading will reach children in the U.S. and around the world,” said Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic.
Helping to make reading a priority for all children, American Airlines and NBC Universal have once again joined as corporate supporters of Scholastic Read For 2005. American Airlines pilots and flight attendants will host reading events in schools on Friday, December 3rd and all Admiral Clubs in airports nationwide will provide Scholastic books for families to enjoy during the busy holiday travel season. NBC Universal will continue to offer support through their national media coverage and affiliate outreach. As part of the reading campaign, Scholastic will donate 50,000 books to children in need through NBC's “Today Show” Holiday Gift Drive on December 3rd, 2004.
In an effort to increase international awareness of Scholastic Read For 2005, the U.S. Department of State has provided information packets to all US Embassies around the world, as part of their annual “International Education Week.”
Parents, children, and teachers can log on to the official Scholastic Read For 2006 Web site at
www.scholastic.com/Readfor2006/ to find fun reading activities, great book lists for all ages and an interactive world map which features classrooms around the world participating in the program. Parents and teachers can also download Scholastic Read For 2005 reading certificates to award to the children and fun bookmarks featuring children's favorite characters including
Clifford™,
Maya & Miguel™, and
Captain Underpants®.
Following are the Scholastic Read For 2005 Ambassadors of Reading to date: Updated list available at
www.scholastic.com/ReadFor2005
Alabama - First Lady Patsy Riley
Alaska - First Lady Nancy Murkowski
Arkansas - First Lady Janet Huckabee
California -First Lady Maria Shriver
Colorado - First Lady Frances Owens
Connecticut - First Son Michael Rell
Delaware - First Son Frank Ingram
Florida - First Lady Columba Bush
Georgia - First Lady Mary Perdue
Guam - First Lady Joann Camacho
Idaho - First Lady Patricia Kempthorne
Indiana - First Lady Maggie Kernan
Iowa - First Lady Christie Vilsack
Kansas - First Gentleman Gary Sebelius
Kentucky - First Lady Glenna Fletcher
Maine - First Lady Karen Baldacci
Maryland - First Lady Kendel Ehrlich
Massachusetts - First Lady Ann Romney
Michigan - First Gentleman Daniel Granholm Mulhern (co-chair)
Minnesota - First Lady Mary Pawlenty
Mississippi - First Lady Marsha Barbour
Missouri - First Lady Lori Holden
Nebraska - First Lady Stephanie Johanns
Nevada - First Lady Dema Guinn
New Mexico - First Lady Barbara Richardson
New York - First Lady Libby Pataki
North Carolina - First Lady Mary Easley
North Dakota - First Lady Mikey Hoeven
Ohio - First Lady Hope Taft
Oklahoma - First Lady Kim Henry
Oregon - First Lady Mary Oberst
Pennsylvania - First Lady Marjorie Rendell
Rhode Island - First Lady Suzanne Carcieri
South Carolina - First Lady Jenny Sanford
Tennessee - First Lady Andrea Conte
Texas - First Lady Anita Perry (co-chair)
Virginia - First Lady Lisa Collis
Washington - First Lady Mona Locke
Wisconsin - First Lady Jessica Doyle
Wyoming - First Lady Nancy Freudenthal
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. 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, film, 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, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site,
www.scholastic.com .