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		News & Events NH Reading Programs Receive Funding from Granite State Reads PHOTO: Clockwise from upper left: Sheryl Speer, Elizabeth Tardiff, Joy, Paul Marsh, Renee Letendre, Samantha, Eathan, Austin and Betsi Randlett Eleven New Hampshire literacy programs will be able to start new programs or continue existing services thanks to grants awarded through Granite State Reads, a partnership of the Verizon Foundation and The Park Street Foundation. Granite State Reads offers financial support to New Hampshire organizations providing literacy assistance to New Hampshire residents. Funding is generated when Verizon customers check the "Check Into Literacy" box on their phone bill that adds one dollar to their monthly charge. Granite State Reads receives all funding from Verizon's New Hampshire customers who choose this option. J. Michael Hickey, State President of Verizon NH spoke enthusiastically about the program. “We appreciate the generosity of our New Hampshire customers who support Granite State Reads by becoming Literacy Champions and donating a $1 every month to this worthwhile program. As stewards of our customers’ donations, Verizon Foundation is proud of the literacy programs selected by the Park Street Foundation. We look forward to continued growth of this program and know we can count on our customers to support even more literacy programs in the future.” "This is the first year of the program and requests far outstripped available funding" said Michael York, State Librarian, "There were twenty-seven applicants requesting a total of $74,000.00. The committee had to make difficult choices as they distributed the $18,000.00 allocated." The grant committee was comprised of librarians and literacy professionals from various organizations. Award winners included public libraries, schools, community education programs and agencies who serve economically challenged populations. The Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc. received a Granite State Reads grant to support their Road Readers traveling literacy van. According to Peg Downing, Director of NH Reads Americorps. "The award will make it possible for Road Readers to once again hit the road for a fifth summer, bringing fun literacy and arts programming to children, parents and caregivers in the communities of Concord, Franklin, Laconia and Pittsfield. The Road Readers team of four NH Reads AmeriCorps members and one AmeriCorps*VISTA are very excited about the story-reading, arts activities, and book lending that they'll be sharing with families. They expect to make over 1,250 contacts with children and parents this summer, and look forward to involving other community volunteers as "guest readers" at their Road Readers site visits. Road Readers' summer is looking very bright indeed, thanks to Granite State Reads." Other grant recipients were: Berlin High School Library, Carpenter Library of Pittsfield, Cheshire County Literacy Coalition, Dover Adult Learning Center, Dr. Crisp Elementary School of Nashua, Easter Seals NH, Merrimack County Adult Tutorial Program, NH Public Television/UNH, Pemi-Baker Literacy Task Force of Plymouth and Pillsbury Library of Warner. The Verizon Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, a Dow 30 company and one of the world's leading providers of communication services. In 2003, the foundation awarded more than 21,000 grants totaling bout $70 million to charitable and nonprofit agencies that focus on improving basic and computer literacy, enriching communities through technology, and reating a skilled work force. The foundation uses its resources in the United States and abroad to develop partnerships in technology and connect them with organizations serving the needs of diverse communities, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, and the economically and socially disadvantaged. The foundation also supports Verizon Volunteers, an incentive program that last year encouraged Verizon employees to volunteer 595,000 hours in their communities and provided $34.6 million in combined contributions to charitable and nonprofit organizations. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation. A Dow 30 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services, with approximately $68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, rimarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.