WYOMISSING, Pa., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sovereign Bank, in
partnership with Reach Out and Read, announced today that more than 23,000
new children's books are being donated as part of the bank's seventh annual
holiday book drive. Donations totaling more than $45,000 were collected
during December from customers and team members at nearly 800 Sovereign
Community Banking Offices in the Northeast U.S.
Reach Out and Read is a national, non-profit organization that promotes
early literacy by making books a routine part of pediatric care.
Joseph P. Campanelli, chief executive officer of Sovereign Bank, noted
that this year's drive placed thousands of brand new books into the hands
of kids who need them. "We thank our customers and team members for their
generosity in supporting our commitment to childhood literacy."
Each $2 donation made at a Sovereign location will be used by Reach Out
and Read to purchase a new copy of one of five classic children's titles -
"Clifford, the Big Red Dog," "Where the Wild Things Are," "Tales of Peter
Rabbit," "Goodnight Moon," or "Buenos Noches Luna." The books will be
distributed to Reach Out and Read facilities at local hospitals, clinics
and doctors' offices that specialize in pediatric care.
"We are thrilled with the outcome of the 2006 book drive," said Barry
Zuckerman, M.D., chairman and co-founder of Reach Out and Read. "Through
the support of Sovereign Bank and their generous customers, thousands of
families throughout the region will return home from their doctor visits
with a beautiful new book. And the power of that book is enhanced by the
message from their doctor about the importance of reading."
The Reach Out and Read program model is based on research showing a
strong connection between the frequency of sharing books with babies,
toddlers and young children and enhanced language development. Reach Out
and Read trains doctors and nurses to give new books to children at each
checkup between 6 months and 5 years of age and to provide developmentally
appropriate advice to parents about reading aloud with their child.
For more information on literacy-related milestones, the book-related
skills that can be expected of children at certain ages, visit:
http:/reachoutandread.org/downloads/RORmilestones_English.pdf
About Reach Out and Read
Reach Out and Read is a national, non-profit program that is working to
make literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care. Reach
Out and Read trains medical providers to advise parents about the
importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at check-ups from
6 months to 5 years, with a special emphasis on children growing up in
poverty. Reach Out and Read has one of the strongest records of research
support of any primary care intervention. Peer-reviewed studies indicate
that parents who get books and literacy counseling from their doctors and
nurses are more likely to read to their young children, read to them more
often, and provide more books in the home. Low-income children exposed to
the program have shown improvements in language development, a critical
component of school readiness. Since l989 Reach Out and Read has trained
more than 28,000 doctors and nurses who have given advice and a new book at
more than 15 million well-child visits. This year Reach Out and Read will
provide more than 3.4 million books to more than 2 million children, at
more than 2,400 programs nationwide. For further information please visit
http://www.reachoutandread.org.
About Sovereign
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent
company of Sovereign Bank, a $90 billion financial institution
headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa., with nearly 800 community banking
offices, over 2,000 ATMs and approximately 12,000 team members with
principal markets in the northeast United States. Sovereign offers a broad
array of financial services and products including retail banking, business
and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, wealth management
and insurance. Sovereign is the 16th largest banking institution in the
United States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit
http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK Sovereign Bank is a
registered trademark of Sovereign Bank or its affiliates or subsidiaries in
the United States and other countries.
SOURCE Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.sovereignbank.com
http://www.reachoutandread.org
CONTACT:
D.J. Murphy of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.,
+1-617-757-5513, or DMurphy1@sovereignbank.com
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