Seven Fast Facts:
Pearson and Jumpstart’s
Read for the Record 2009 Campaign
October 8, 2009

1. On October 8, 2009, Jumpstart’s national partners will support Read for the Record celebrations across the United States. Presented in partnership with Pearson, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign continues to raise awareness of the importance of early literacy and personal service. This year, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record partners include American Eagle Outfitters, Penguin, Sodexo, and Official Retail Sponsor Wal-Mart. Once again, Pearson people will join thousands of young people, teachers, public figures, and guest readers in big, invitation-only events in New York City, at the Washington Nationals Ballpark in Washington D.C., and at major citywide events planned at the Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Public Libraries.
Read the official Read for the Record press release.

2. This year, we expect to register a million readers. The Read for the Record campaign has raised more than $2 million for Jumpstart each year since 2006. In the process, more than a million registered readers confirmed their participation, reading The Little Engine That Could in 2006, The Story of Ferdinand in 2007, and Corduroy in 2008. This year, as we tally participation counts from across the country, we expect to confirm as many participants as all previous years combined, pushing the total to over two million registered readers since 2006.

3. Everywhere, record-breakers will read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The official book of this year’s campaign is a Philomel Books classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira of NBC’s TODAY show co-wrote the introduction to this limited edition – available in both English-language and Spanish-language versions – and the book also features a special foreword for parents contributed by musician, actor, and rapper LL Cool J.

4. Read for the Record is a national campaign made up of thousands of local events. Last year, more than 1,500 Pearson people from more than 40 Pearson office locations helped to set the new world record for the largest single-day shared reading event. This year, participation will be even greater: Pearson people will take part in Read for the Record celebrations; read The Very Hungry Caterpillar; and in many locations help young people to create their own personalized ABC books based on the Pearson Foundation’s Family Book Nights program. In addition, as in past campaigns, the Pearson Foundation will help Jumpstart and local Pearson volunteers to organize the citywide kick-off events in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

5. Every year, Pearson businesses have helped to set the new world record. Since 2006, the Pearson Foundation has shared more than 300,000 copies of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign editions with teachers, students, community organizations, and school districts around the country. Together with our businesses, we also engage leaders from hundreds of school districts nationwide. We help to organize statewide reading events, bring governors, mayors, and city officials together from Boston to Los Angeles, and involve more public and school libraries each year. Again in 2009, we will extend our partnership with the USO and with the nonprofit United Through Reading organization (which makes it possible for service people overseas to read books and share them with their children back home), so that the families served by United Through Reading can take part in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.
See a FOX morning show spotlight and interview from Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 2008 campaign.

6. Thanks to Pearson’s Higher Education team, reading isn’t just for kids. In 2009, we expect more college bookstores to carry the special edition (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) than ever before. In 2008, thanks to the Pearson Higher Education sales force, national sales partners including Barnes & Noble, Follett, and Nascorp, as well as scores of independent booksellers including those on campuses at the University of Arizona, the University of Denver, and the University of Kansas, joined in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record and – in many cases – enjoyed the opportunity to champion their own reading advocacy events in the process.

7. Reading is important all year long! Every day is a good day to read with a child in your life. Learn more at www.readfortherecord.org, and make sure to pledge to read on October 8, 2009.