Gift of Reading Will Help Stock School's Media Center
INDIANAPOLIS, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of an ongoing effort to
promote academic achievement, Sallie Mae, the nation's leading provider of
saving-and paying-for-college programs, today announced a $50,000 donation
from its charitable organization, The Sallie Mae Fund, to James Russell
Lowell School 51 of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). The money will
provide library books for the school's 300 students.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a )
"Sallie Mae and The Sallie Mae Fund are committed to supporting efforts
that foster academic achievement and help students better prepare for
higher education," said June McCormack, executive vice president, Sallie
Mae. "Connecting children with books is an important step toward instilling
a love of reading at a very young age, and helps create a foundation for
lifelong learning."
"This is the largest donation earmarked specifically for library books
that the district has ever received," said Eugene G. White, superintendent
of IPS. "Thanks to The Sallie Mae Fund, our children will have the
opportunity to develop a love of reading from a variety of titles, from
mysteries to biographies."
The donation was announced earlier today at an unveiling ceremony at
the school. Each of the new books in School 51's library will contain a
colorful bookplate recognizing The Sallie Mae Fund's contribution to the
school.
School 51, which serves kindergarten through sixth grade, was closed in
1981 due to a federal desegregation order, with 5,000 IPS students sent to
schools in neighboring area townships. The school reopened its doors this
year as part of Phase I of IPS' $975 million capital improvements program.
"We are so grateful for this donation," adds Debra Brown, principal of
School 51. "Our media center is now a cozy space where children can select
a book and curl up to practice their reading skills. This is an invaluable
gift."
Sallie Mae's Fishers, Ind., facility employs 1,650 individuals. Since
2001, The Sallie Mae Fund has contributed nearly $6 million to non-profit
organizations in the state of Indiana.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the
nation's leading provider of saving-and paying-for-college programs. The
company manages $142 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10
million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the
company also manages $15 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and assists
more than 7.5 million members with automatic savings through rebates on
everyday purchases. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management
services as well as business and technical products to a range of business
clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors,
and state and federal agencies. More information is available at
http://www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored
by or agencies of the United States of America.
The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae,
achieves its mission -- to increase access to a postsecondary education for
America's students -- by supporting programs and initiatives that help open
doors to higher education, prepare families for their investment, and
bridge the gap when no one else can. For more information, visit
http://www.salliemaefund.org.
SOURCE Sallie Mae
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