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Wachovia Championship:   Allison Miley
(704) 383-9838

Wachovia Community Affairs:   Alison Rice
(704) 383-5644

Teach For America:   Amy Palladino
(212) 279-2080, ext.134

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools:   Jerri Haigler
(980) 343-5963

October 27, 2003
Wachovia Championship Gives Teach for America $1 Million
Teach For America partners with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to bring national program to Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Today the Wachovia Championship announced a donation of $1 million to Teach For America, the primary charitable recipient of a portion of proceeds from the 2003 golf tournament. The money was given by Champions for Education, Inc., a 501(c) (3) foundation formed to raise funds for education that manages and operates the event as the tournament host organization. Teach For America has also been selected as the primary beneficiary of a portion of proceeds from the upcoming 2004 event.

"As part of the Wachovia Championship, Champions for Education, Inc., is thrilled to be able to share a portion of the proceeds from the tournament with this extremely worthy organization," said Ken Thompson, board member of Champions for Education, Inc. and chairman and CEO, Wachovia Corp. "We are excited that this gift will benefit children across the nation as well as here in Charlotte. We'd like to extend our thanks to every volunteer and spectator who attended the inaugural event, as you helped make this contribution a reality."

Proceeds from all PGA TOUR events benefit charities selected by the tournament organization. Teach For America will use the $1 million donation to further efforts in the 20 communities it operates in today. As well, half of the gift is designated to help Teach For America expand its current North Carolina presence into Charlotte, where it plans to place and support 50 new teachers for the 2004-2005 school year.

"We would like to thank Wachovia, not only for this extremely generous gift, but also for being such a committed partner at so many levels of the organization," said Wendy Kopp, president and founder of Teach For America. "Thanks to the support of partners like Wachovia, Teach For America continues to thrive as an organization. Over the last three years, we have grown our corps from 1,000 corps members in 13 communities to more than 3,200 corps members in 20 communities. This growth means many more corps members working relentlessly as teachers during their two-year commitments to ensure that many more students growing up today have more of the opportunities they deserve. And, it has meant growing our alumni force, leaders working within education and from every sector and at every level of policy, to effect lasting, fundamental change that will help eliminate educational inequity."

Teach For America is building the movement to eliminate educational inequity by calling upon our nation's most promising future leaders—recent college graduates of all backgrounds and academic majors—to commit two years to teach in urban and rural schools in some of our nation's lowest income areas. Alumni of the program are a growing force of leaders working in education and from every other sector—law, medicine, policy, etc.—to strengthen our nation's schools and take on the range of social issues that limit the prospects of children growing up in low-income communities.

With support and partnership from Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, Teach For America will begin placing teachers in the Charlotte area in the fall of 2004.

"Urban school districts throughout the country face a constant challenge of recruiting quality teachers to work in challenging settings," says Dr. James L. Pughsley, superintendent of schools. "Research shows that one of the single most important factors in student achievement is having a top quality teacher in every classroom. Our goal in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is to recruit and retain teachers who possess the knowledge, skills and desire to truly make a difference for every child. CMS is extremely fortunate to be part of a community that values public education and supports efforts to meet the challenges we face. We are pleased to help bring the nationally recognized Teach For America force to the Charlotte area and value the support Wachovia gives to CMS."

Wachovia Corporation is the title sponsor of the Wachovia Championship. In keeping with Wachovia's strong commitment to furthering education opportunities in local communities, the company supports Teach For America through donations, volunteer efforts and support for the eight offices in Wachovia's retail footprint, as well as numerous offices across the country. Ken Thompson, Wachovia chairman and CEO, is on the board of directors of Teach For America.

About the Wachovia Championship and Champions for Education, Inc.

The inaugural Wachovia Championship was held May 5-11, 2003, at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. It is one of the largest, most prestigious sporting events in the Charlotte region. Wachovia, the title sponsor, and the PGA TOUR's initial agreement is to continue the event through 2006. It is intended as an annual tradition that will bring customers, players and patrons back each year for an unforgettable golf experience.

The $5.6 million purse in 2003 was one of the highest on the TOUR, and guaranteed the winner - David Toms - more than $1 million. The prize money, renowned golf course and facility, and early May time slot are a key draw to many of the stars on the PGA TOUR. The 2004 tournament will be held May 3-9.

The Champions for Education, Inc. board manages and operates the event. Five members comprise the current Champions for Education, Inc., board of directors:
  • Johnny Harris - President, Quail Hollow Club
  • Harry Jones - Mecklenburg County Manager
  • Anna Spangler Nelson - President, C.D. Spangler Construction Co.; Partner, Wakefield Group
  • Rick Priory - Chairman, President and CEO, Duke Energy
  • Ken Thompson - President and CEO, Wachovia Corp.
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.

About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding college graduates who commit two years to teach in low-income urban and rural communities and become life-long advocates to expand opportunity for children. Corps members go above and beyond traditional expectations to impact the lives of children growing up in low-income communities. Beyond their two years, corps members take their insight and added commitment to assume leadership roles from inside education and from every other sector and work toward the fundamental changes necessary to provide more equal opportunities for all children in our nation.

Since its first 500 corps members entered classrooms in 1990, Teach For America has recruited more than 10,000 outstanding college graduates of all academic majors. Corps members teach in 20 locations in underserved communities across the country. For more information on Teach For America, please visit: www.teachforamerica.org

About CMS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is the 23rd largest school district in the country with more than 114,000 students and 14,000 employees. CMS has been recognized nationally for increasing student achievement while narrowing the achievement gap. With student achievement as the district's top priority, the administration has focused on providing access to rigorous coursework for every child. In 2003, Newsweek Magazine ranked four CMS high schools to its "Top 100 Best High Schools in America" list for the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses offered. Last year, 52 percent of the district's graduates took at least one AP or IB course. In addition, tremendous gains have been made in the past six years with more than 87 percent of fifth grade students performing on grade level in reading in 2002-2003 and 92 percent on grade level in math.

About the PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Its primary purpose is to provide significant competitive earnings opportunities for past, current and future members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.

Approximately 120 events are being contested on the three TOURs in 2003, for more than $290 million in prize money. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant sums of money for charity. TOUR events have raised approximately $750 million for charity since 1938, the first year such records were kept. The PGA TOUR's Web site address is www.pgatour.com.

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