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October 20, 2003
Wachovia Launches Annual Reading First Program in Schools to Promote Early Childhood Literacy
Nearly 400,000 Books Read and Donated in 4 Years of Reading First
(Charlotte, N.C.) - Wachovia Corp. kicks off its 2003-04 Reading First program with a special three-week Celebration event in cities across the U.S. and in London, Bangkok and Hong Kong.
From Oct. 20 to Nov. 7, thousands of employee volunteers and community partners will read in elementary school classrooms and will donate 50,000 books to classroom libraries. The celebration highlights Wachovia's Reading First Program, in which employee volunteers read and donate a different book each week for a 20-week period. Since the program's inception in 1999, Wachovia employees have partnered with schools to read on nearly 8,000 occasions. When the celebration ends on Nov. 7, nearly 400,000 books will have been donated to classroom libraries since 1999.
"That's a staggering number," said Shannon McFayden, head of Community Affairs. "We know from feedback we get from students, teachers and schools that they enjoy the visits from our volunteers and that the donated books become treasured additions to classrooms. Our employees clearly value this program and the active involvement it allows them to have in schools, and we make it easy for them to participate with our Time Away From Work for Community Service policy, which gives employees four paid hours per month-or six days per year-to volunteer in their communities."
The celebration features the book The Wise Woman and Her Secret by Eve Merriam. The story follows a wise woman and the villagers who demand to know the secret of her wisdom. One inquisitive little girl discovers that wisdom comes with a sense of curiosity and can only be found with open minds and hearts.
Reading First, a partnership between Wachovia and Scholastic, Inc., is an interactive read-aloud program designed to increase volunteerism and promote the importance of early childhood literacy. A 2000 study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education found that young children who were read to at least three times a week were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent in reading than children who were read to less than three times a week.
The program is funded by the Wachovia Foundation. The foundation is Wachovia's primary vehicle for charitable donations, established to help build strong and vibrant communities. It provides grants to eligible charitable and public purpose organizations in support of four primary areas: education, community development, arts and culture and health and human services.
The Reading First program is just one of the ways in which Wachovia supports education at the national level and through partnerships with individual schools across the United States. The company has a unique, far-reaching partnership with Teach For America, the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teaching in urban and rural public schools. In addition, Wachovia employees establish partnerships with schools throughout the country, providing everything from school supplies to tutoring and mentoring services. Wachovia recently announced a partnership with Connecting with Kids, an organization that works with parents and schools to implement character education.
ABOUT WACHOVIA
Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the largest providers of financial services to retail, brokerage and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation, with assets of $389 billion and stockholders' equity of $33 billion at Sept. 30, 2003. Its four core businesses, the General Bank, Capital Management, Wealth Management, and the Corporate and Investment Bank, serve 9 million households, including 900,000 businesses, primarily in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C. Its broker-dealer, Wachovia Securities, LLC, serves clients in 48 states. Global services are provided through more than 30 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services also are available through Wachovia.com.
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