Children's Books to Share the Gift of Reading Through Annual Season's Readings Campaign

Public Invited to Take Part in Annual Campaign to Provide Books to Children in Need

Verizon Teams With First Book and Random House

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 - Holiday shoppers will have the opportunity to give the gift of reading through the Verizon Foundation's annual Season's Readings campaign.

The public is invited to take part in the campaign, from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31, by logging on to http://www.firstbook.org/verizon and making a donation to First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides new books to children in need by distributing the books through local schools, libraries and other nonprofit children's organizations throughout the country. A contribution of just $2 buys a new book.

For every donation to First Book through the Web site, Random House Children's Books will make a matching donation of new, free books to First Book (up to 300,000 books). Also, the first 300 people who make a $20 donation or more through the Web site will receive a complimentary copy of Dr. Seuss's beloved classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" "Thousands of children miss out on the joy and magic of reading simply because they don't have books," said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. "This campaign will help bring a smile to the faces of many children throughout the country and give them a gift that will help ensure a brighter future through literacy."

Season's Readings began in 2001 as a Verizon employees' campaign to advance the cause of children's literacy. Since then, more than 2 million children's books have been donated to children across the country.

This year, Verizon employees at hundreds of company locations will participate in the annual giving campaign by donating new or gently used children's books. Items collected at Verizon work locations will be donated to nonprofit and educational organizations in the local area. In addition, donations made through the First Book Web site will result in additional books being made available to schools and children's programs across the country registered with First Book.

"Literacy is the first building block of the strong education needed to help all children reach their full potential," said Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston. "We invite everyone to become part of our efforts to get books into the hands of children and help them become lifelong learners."

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 3 million hours of community service since 2000.

First Book is an award-winning nonprofit that provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy - access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 65 million free and low cost books to schools and programs serving children in low-income communities. For more information, please visit www.firstbook.org.

Verizon Communications Inc.headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion.

Random House Children's Books is the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books and novels, the imprints of Random House Children's Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company's award-winning website, kids@random (www.randomhouse.com/kids) offers an array of materials and activities free of charge for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company.

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Lonely, Young Runaway Sold into Sexual Slavery Discovers New Hope and Love as a Woman

In his debut novel, “Tootie Greene” (published by iUniverse), Zachary F. Scott follows the poor, infamous Tootie Greene, a young girl who is shuffled into a foster home where she is mistreated again. She runs away and ends up living on the streets and was soon abducted and sold into sexual slavery to a pimp named Carlos.

Despite her rough past of prostitution and erotic dancing in Southern California, Tootie fortunately meets a preacher named Johnny Mack, who rescues her by buying her from Carlos and later marries her. For a year or so she indulges in the happiness she craves, a normal, loving family. Unfortunately, just when life couldn’t get any sweeter, the chairman of the deacons at Johnny’s church, one of her former clients, blackmails her for sex. She gets pregnant and eventually, through an accident, Johnny discovers the child is not his because of the blood types. Johnny forces Tootie to leave their home without her children.

Her problems snowball when a religious cult, The Sacred Path of Natural Enlightenment, befriends the lost Tootie as she is searching for a way to return to her family, or get her children. The cult drugs and kidnaps Tootie, taking her to their clandestine order based just outside of Portland to become one of their tantric priestesses. After she stumbles onto a set where they are filming a snuff film, Tootie realizes she too will be killed, so she plans an escape. Her plans are discovered and her execution is ordered. During her heroic escape from the enforcers she is wounded and taken to the hospital. Finally, Johnny is summoned and after some intense conflicts he relents and asks her to return home.

From being forced to work the streets of California as a young woman, to attempting suicide by jumping off a cliff and then finding herself involved in the rituals of a dark cult, Tootie’s tale not only explores, but exposes the horrors and psychological damage of human trafficking. It illuminates this commonly ignored, underground world of decadence for the first time in years. “Tootie Greene” is an unflinching portrayal of a woman who dreams of the stability and affection of a family, a dream that many take for granted.

About the Author

Zachary F. Scott is a pseudonym for Dr. Zachary F. Carden, a general dentist in Chattanooga, Tenn. He is the scientific editor of the Journal of the Tennessee Dental Association. He received his bachelor’s degree from Carson-Newman College in 1963, and his doctor of dental surgery in 1974. He has also received several fellowships and awards for his contributions to the field of dentistry. Scott currently lives on Lake Chickamauga with his wife, Anne, who is an award-winning author (iUniverse 2009, “The House of Broken Dreams”). They have two children and four grandchildren. Though “Tootie Greene” is his first book, Scott and his wife have other manuscripts ready for publication.

PBS KIDS GO! Launches Its First Writers Contest

WNED-TV, Buffalo/Toronto partners with PBS KIDS GO! to mobilize children across America to write and illustrate their own stories

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 4 - PBS KIDS GO! and WNED-TV Buffalo/Toronto are partnering to launch the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest, a national-local contest designed to promote the advancement of children's reading skills through hands-on, active learning. The Contest encourages children in grades K-3 in communities across the country, to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their own original pieces.

Beginning on January 27, 2010, PBS stations throughout the country will be active partners in the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest, and will work with schools, public libraries and other literacy organizations to implement the Contest in their communities. Children will be encouraged to write and illustrate stories and submit them to their local stations, which will select winners and award prizes. Local winners will be entered into the national level of the Contest where a renowned panel of judges will identify the national winners. Winners will be announced and national prizes, including laptops, digital cameras and MP3 players will be awarded in summer 2010.

In addition, a new PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest Web site at pbskids.org/read will launch in early 2010. As the information hub of the Contest, it will include the winning stories in each of the Contest categories as well as a searchable archive of winning stories.

"We know from research that there is an important connection between writing and the development of early literacy skills, critical cornerstones for school readiness and achievement," said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children's Media, PBS. "PBS KIDS uses the power of media to open up the worlds of letters and words for all young children, encouraging them to explore ways to communicate more effectively and increasing their odds of success."

The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest extends the powerful tradition and annual success of the 15 year national "Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest," originally created by WNED-TV Buffalo/Toronto and NET Nebraska.

"WNED is proud to continue its leadership role in literacy for public television through the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest," said WNED President and CEO Donald K. Boswell. "Building on the important legacy of Reading Rainbow, this new contest ushers the powerful mission of our programs directly into the homes and classrooms of the community, motivating young students to create and imagine."

The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is a part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national initiative which uses the power of public media to build the reading skills of children ages 2-to-8, with an emphasis on children from low-income families. The effort is funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a cooperative agreement with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), PBS and The Ready To Learn Partnership.

About PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!

PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, offer all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and community-based programs. With positive role models and content designed to nurture a child's total well-being, PBS's children's media and family and educator resources - including PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! television series, PBSKIDS.org, PBSKIDSGO.org, PBS Parents (PBSPARENTS.org), PBS Teachers (PBSTEACHERS.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country - leverage the full spectrum of media, technology and community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. Empowering children for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. In September 2008, PBS KIDS GO! launched its video player (PBSKIDSGO.org/video), featuring hundreds of video clips and dozens of full-length episodes. Since launch, the site is averaging 1.3 million streams per week. PBSKIDS.org averages 9 million unique visitors a month. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 356 public television stations, serving more than 115 million people on-air and online each month. For more information on specific shows supporting literacy, science, math, and more, visit PBS.org/pressroom.

About WNED

The Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (WNED) long ago established itself as an originator of television content for PBS. WNED is the founder and national co-producer of the Reading Rainbow series which garnered a total of 26 Emmy Awards, ten of which were for "Outstanding Children's Series." WNED was the producer of the popular Mark Russell Comedy Specials for PBS and is a producer of major documentaries for PBS national distribution. A series of WNED documentaries (Your Life Your Money, Window to the Sea, Niagara Falls, Frank Lloyd Wright's Buffalo, The Marines, The Adirondacks, Fort Niagara: The Struggle for a Continent) have been broadcast nationally on PBS since 2005. Elbert Hubbard: An American Original is WNED's next PBS production and is scheduled for broadcast on November 23, 2009. WNED is currently producing several documentaries slated for national PBS broadcast in the coming years including the War of 1812 and a special on the Chautauqua Institution.

About CPB

CPB, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1000 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related on-line services.

CONTACT: Kim Elek, +1-410-956-0460, kim@mcreynoldselek.com, or Lynn
McReynolds, +1-410-268-0275, lynn@mcreynoldselek.com

HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US

Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy

At a time when pundits, politicians and some world leaders are proclaiming the death of "laissez faire" and free enterprise, a new book from STEVE FORBES asserts that capitalism -- economic freedom -- is the real way to revive the economy.

HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy (Crown Business; November 3, 2009), by STEVE FORBES, editor of Forbes Media and one of the nation's best-known economic prognosticators, and co-author Elizabeth Ames, explores what the authors call "Real World economics," principles of how markets work that are really beyond politics (politicians of all stripes have both embraced and violated them). The book draws on a variety of voices past and present -- economists, writers and philosophers, from Thomas Sowell and Friedrich von Hayek to Adam Smith. It explains -

-- What really caused the financial crisis and "Great Recession."
-- How today's negative "Rap" on capitalism is not only wrong, but rooted
in cultural biases going back thousands of years.
-- Why freer markets are not the problem but the answer to healthcare,
unemployment and other economic problems facing Americans today.

-- That capitalism, while not perfect, is the most democratic, moral
system on earth.


The authors write that unease about free markets, combined with longstanding cultural biases, has helped create a bad "Rap" on capitalism that has shaped destructive policies over decades -- from the job-killing Smoot-Hawley Tariff that triggered the Great Depression to today's economic "stimulus" and other policies that have failed to truly revive the economy.

Written as an engaging "conversation," HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy covers the most hotly debated topics in today's headlines -- from CEO pay to healthcare. The book addresses classic questions ranging from "Isn't capitalism based on greed?" to "Is affordable healthcare possible in a free market?"

The authors take issue with the popular notion that capitalism is based on "greed." They point out that there are greedy people in any society. Capitalism, however, is a more moral system because it is about free people coming together without coercion and generating prosperity by meeting the needs and wants of others.

"Self-interest alone did not invent the automobile, the Internet, the personal computer, the cell phone, or countless other wealth-creating inventions," the authors write. "These and other innovations are the product of the brilliance and creativity of individuals -- and an economic environment that gives these people sufficient freedom to take risks and pursue their visions."