NY Times Bestselling Author Directs Random House Donation to World Vision's Work in Low-Income Schools in Seattle and NYC

·  Debbie Macomber chooses World Vision to Receive Generous Donation from her Publisher    

·  World Vision's Teacher Resource Centers in New York and Seattle to Benefit

·  Debbie Visits World Vision's Seattle Teacher Resource Center and Local Recipients in March

FEDERAL WAY, Wash., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With more than 150 million copies of her books in print, author Debbie Macomber has come a long way from her childhood diagnosis of dyslexia. This is part of the motivation behind Debbie's recent choice of World Vision's Teacher Resource Centers (TRCs) as the designee of the generous donation her publisher Random House made to the charity of her choice.

One of the key programs World Vision operates in the U.S. is a network of eight Teacher Resource Centers, designed to provide free teaching tools and classroom supplies to teachers in especially under-resourced communities. Corporate and partner donations provide for teachers from qualifying schools—those in which at least 70 percent of the students are from low-income families.

In 2011, the Christian humanitarian organization served more than 800 schools, 23,000 teachers and 450,000 students, but World Vision teams across the country warn that the ongoing need for basic supplies has greatly outstripped donations.  At the eight World Vision TRCs, staff are struggling to bridge the gap, and it is generous donors like Random House and Debbie Macomber that are making a real difference.

"We are very troubled by the trends we are seeing nationwide," says Romanita Hairston, World Vision's vice president for the charity's U.S. programs.  "As the U.S. economy continues to sputter, children in poverty will pay the price. The unemployment numbers are particularly concerning. If parents cannot find jobs, that means basic school supplies such as paper, pencils, binders and backpacks are luxury items many families simply cannot afford."

Natives of Washington, Macomber and her family have been long-time World Vision supporters. She visited the Seattle area TRC in March where she met World Vision staff and local school administrators to talk about the needs of the local community schools.  Macomber also shared in a guest blog post she wrote for World Vision her tradition of letting each grandchild select a gift from World Vision's holiday Gift Catalog on his or her birthday to donate to a child, family or community in need.

"I am delighted that Random House is joining me in support of this wonderful non-profit organization, which benefits children here in the United States as well as around the world," said Macomber while visiting the Seattle area World Vision TRC.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Macomber will publish her first novel with the Random House Publishing Group with the Ballantine Books Hardcover publication of The Inn at Rose Harbor August 14.  Set in fictional Cedar Cove, Wash., this first book in her Rose Harbor Inn series finds a young war widow purchasing a bed-and-breakfast which quickly becomes a place for healing not only for her, but for her guests, who all seem to be searching for solace.  

Hallmark Channel recently announced they are producing a scripted television pilot based on Macomber's bestselling novels set in Cedar Cove, which is also the setting of the new Inn at Rose Harbor series.  The as-yet-untitled pilot is tentatively scheduled to premiere this August 2012.

About Debbie Macomber:
With more than 150 million copies of her books in print and published in 23 languages, Debbie Macomber is one of today's most popular authors.  In addition to her bestselling novels, "Debbie's world" includes children's books, cookbooks, knitting pattern booklets, inspirational books, a devotional, top-rated Hallmark Channel movies, her own yarn store in Port Orchard, Wash, and her own yarn line with Universal Yarn. She and her husband, Wayne, serve on the Guideposts National Advisory Board. When not writing, Debbie enjoys knitting and putting on Grandma Camps for her nine grandchildren.

About Random House Publishing:
Ballantine Books is an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., the world's largest trade-book publisher, whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG.

About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. World Vision serves the world's poor regardless of a person's religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information please visit www.worldvision.org/press.  Or follow them on their Twitter site at @worldvisionnews.

SOURCE World Vision U.S.