JPMorgan Chase & Co., Invests $25,000 to Support Bring Me A Book's San Jose Elementary School Library Initiative

Library Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to Commemorate JPMorgan Chase & Co., Foundation Funding of Literacy Programs in Franklin McKinley School District

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Franklin McKinley School District and Bring Me A Book (BMAB) will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the expansion of the San Jose Elementary School Library Initiative in Franklin McKinley School District.  The initiative is supported by the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation, the nonprofit arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., whose mission is to be the catalyst to meaningful, positive, and sustainable change within the highest need neighborhoods and communities across the globe. Two Bookcase Libraries will be presented to the kindergarten classrooms of G.W. Hellyer Elementary School in a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by read aloud sessions with kindergarten students and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation. Members of the media are encouraged to attend for event photographs and interviews.

What:  Franklin McKinley School District/Bring Me A Book Ribbon Cutting Ceremony launching the expansion of the San Jose Elementary School Library Initiative

Where:  G.W. Hellyer Elementary School, 725 Hellyer Avenue, San Jose 95111

When:  April 27 at 10:30 a.m.

Who:  Antonio Manning, Regional Executive, West/Southwest, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The installation of the Bookcase Libraries is being provided through a $25,000 grant to BMAB from the JPMorgan Chase & Co., Foundation, which will place 16 kindergarten Bookcase Libraries in six Franklin McKinley schools in 2010. Each BMAB Bookcase Library features an open display bookcase filled with 30 new, hardcover, multicultural and age appropriate children's books. In addition to the new bookcases, the funding will provide First Teachers literacy workshops at each of the six schools to educate and inspire parents to read aloud with their children everyday.

"JPMorgan Chase places great value in education and will continue to invest in creative programs that keep kids engaged," said Antonio Manning, Regional Executive, West/Southwest, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The $25,000 investment from JPMorgan Chase & Co., will continue the expansion of the San Jose Elementary School Library Initiative, which was first launched in 2005, to Franklin McKinley School District.  With earlier funding investments from the Applied Materials Foundation, Cisco Systems, Junior League of San Jose, The Summit League, and Yahoo, BMAB has placed a Bookcase Library in every kindergarten classroom in Alum Rock Unified School District, Luther Burbank School District, and San Jose Unified School District.  To date, investment funding has provided 220 Bookcase Libraries in 27 elementary schools and 80 First Teachers workshops to parents and caregivers of the children enrolled in these school sites.  In 2010 BMAB will provide all kindergarten classrooms in each of the Franklin McKinley School District's 14 elementary schools, with a Bookcase Library and a First Teachers workshop for parents and caregivers of students.

"The installation of the Bookcase Libraries through a generous grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation supports the District's initiative to encourage every student to read 25 books or more each year," said Dr. John Porter, Superintendent, Franklin McKinley School District. "As part of the Bring Me A Book Foundation's School Library Initiative, this has helped us in making this expectation a reality for all of our students."

The Bring Me A Book Foundation® is a 501 (c) (3) award winning literacy non profit headquartered in Mountain View, CA. Bring Me A Book provides easy access to the best children's books and inspires reading aloud. Bring Me A Book places libraries of books in state funded preschools, elementary schools (K – 3rd grade) and community centers and provides a First Teachers literacy training workshop for parents, teachers and caregivers.

SOURCE Bring Me a Book Foundation