Communities In Schools Of Wake County To Host Sold Out Gifted Hands Breakfast On Sept. 14

Local Dropout Prevention Agency And PNC To Bring Acclaimed Neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson To Much-Anticipated Fundraising Event

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Communities In Schools of Wake County (CIS Wake) (http://ciswake.org/), the area's largest dropout prevention agency that works in partnership with the Wake County Public School System to help students in need, has announced that Dr. Benjamin Carson will be the guest speaker at its sold out Gifted Hands Breakfast on Friday, Sept. 14 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. The event, which is sponsored by PNC, will take place at the Raleigh Marriott City Center at 500 Fayetteville Street. The purpose of the event is to raise funds and awareness for CIS Wake. Carson is the world renowned director of pediatric neurosurgery for the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., who made history in 1987 when he led a team of doctors in the successful separation of seven-month-old conjoined twins who were joined at the back of the head.

In addition to sponsoring the event, PNC supports CIS Wake through its signature philanthropic cause for early childhood education, PNC Grow Up Great. PNC Grow Up Great is a $350 million, multi-year initiative that began in 2004 to help prepare children, particularly underserved children from birth to age five, for success in school and life. For more information, visit http://www.pncgrowupgreat.com/.

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"We are excited to bring Dr. Carson to the sold out Gifted Hands Breakfast," said Travis Mitchell, president of CIS Wake. "We look forward to hearing his message of hope, as he overcame a life seemingly limited by tough times and even tougher environments to one of extraordinary success. The lessons that our students will learn from Dr. Carson's personal narrative and unique journey will be a memorable gift that will inspire them to stay in school and achieve in life." 

"We are honored to partner with Communities In Schools of Wake County to bring Dr. Benjamin Carson to Raleigh," said Paula Fryland, PNC regional president of Eastern Carolinas. "Few people are better equipped to inspire students of Wake County to 'grow up great' than Dr. Carson."    

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Communities In Schools of Wake County's Facebook page:
http://on.fb.me/PNSPqo

Communities In Schools of Wake County's Twitter page:
http://bit.ly/PsTSYA

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http://bit.ly/NwKWXP

ABOUT COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF WAKE COUNTY:
Communities In Schools of Wake County (CIS Wake) has worked in partnership with the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) for more than 20 years to help area students stay in school and achieve in life. CIS Wake is one of 38 local affiliates across the state of North Carolina serving students in 44 counties, and is a part of a national network of 181 local affiliates serving more than 1.3 million students in 25 states. Additionally, CIS Wake supports more than 5,000 students in six Wake County public school sites and five community-based learning centers. For more information about CIS Wake, visit http://ciswake.org.

Media Contact:
Roberta Hadley
[email protected] 
919-834-5663, ext. 3-4

SOURCE Communities In Schools of Wake County