Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund and ProLiteracy Join in Adult Literacy Program

Pilot project puts easy-to-read newspaper in new readers’ hands

Syracuse, NY
July 17, 2008

The Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund (the “Fund”) and ProLiteracy, the world’s largest organization of adult literacy and basic education programs, are collaborating on a project to help struggling adult readers and English language learners improve their skills while keeping up on the latest national and international news.

The Fund is providing $25,000 to support 10 or more adult literacy programs in southern California. The $25,000 will provide multiple newspaper subscriptions to News for You, America’s only weekly newspaper for adult literacy students and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners. The donation also will be used to develop and maintain an online instructor resource guide. Volunteer literacy tutors and adult education teachers will use the newspaper and the online teaching guide with at least 1,000 students in one-on-one tutoring sessions and small group and classroom instruction for six months. Participating programs will track learner interest and the progress they make in language and reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

News for You is distributed weekly by ProLiteracy’s publishing division, New Readers Press. Under a licensing agreement with an international news provider, ProLiteracy editors adapt world and national news stories and items on culture, science, social studies, and human interest pieces to a level appropriate for adult literacy and ESL students. Every other week, News for You includes content from a national consumer publication that has been tailored to new readers, giving them access to information other consumers have to make informed buying decisions. New Readers Press has been publishing News for You for 40 years.

”We have many local literacy programs and adult basic education instructors using News for You with a variety of students, and they know what a great resource and teaching tool it is,” said David C. Harvey, ProLiteracy president and CEO. “But there are far too many programs that use children’s magazines to teach adults because they don’t know about the newspaper, or can’t afford even the low-cost subscriptions. The Fund’s generosity means adult learners will have a real newspaper designed for them so they can be informed about what’s happening in the world at the same time they strengthen their literacy skills. These are engaging stories written at a level they can understand, and that’s a key to success.”

To help tutors and teachers get the most out of News for You as a teaching tool, ProLiteracy will develop a Web-based resource guide that will include innovative ways tutors and teachers can use the newspaper in non-traditional ways, in new environments, and with new student populations.

“The Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund is pleased to support ProLiteracy’s adult literacy programs,” said Kathleen Ryan-Mufson, vice president, Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund. “ProLiteracy provides adult learners with the necessary programs and tools to achieve their short- and long-term education goals. Adult literacy is an important career attribute that will influence an individual’s ability to compete in the job market.”

“Through its continued support of ProLiteracy, Pitney Bowes shows its leadership in committing to a literate workforce,” Harvey said.

About the Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund
The Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund is a private foundation with a mission to provide funding to literacy and education initiatives in key locations where Pitney Bowes has a significant presence. For information about the Pitney Bowes Literacy and Education Fund, go to pb.com/communityinvestments. General information about Pitney Bowes is available through the Investor Relations portion of the company’s website at www.pb.com.

About ProLiteracy
ProLiteracy promotes literacy in the context of people’s daily lives —at home, at work, and in the community —through education, training and technical assistance, publications, research, policy development, and advocacy. ProLiteracy works with adult new readers and learners, and in partnership with local, national and international organizations, including volunteer-based literacy programs and the traditional adult basic education system, and agencies specializing in workforce readiness, health literacy, and English as a second language. ProLiteracy has member programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Internationally, ProLiteracy works with 125 nongovernmental agencies in 65 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. For more information, please go to proliteracy.org.