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Carson Chandler
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Heather Allebaugh (407)
246.3423
AT&T Awards $75,000 Contribution to Improve Educational
Opportunities for Disadvantaged Orlando Youth
ORLANDO, Fla.,
May 20, 2008 — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced yesterday a
$75,000 donation to the Parramore Kidz Zone (PKZ) to
assist the nonprofit organization’s efforts to boost the
school performance of disadvantaged youth in the
Parramore area in Orlando.
“Investing in
programs that can make a true difference in the quality
of life for Floridians, especially our children, is a
real priority for the AT&T team,” said Marshall Criser
III, president of AT&T Florida. “We are committed to
helping indispensable community-based organizations like
the Parramore Kidz Zone by providing them with the tools
needed to help the wonderful kids who participate in the
program.”
PKZ will use the AT&T contribution
to enhance the computer capabilities at its Homework
Room sites throughout the community and increase access
for neighborhood children to the University of Central
Florida’s Digital U program. The money will also be used
to expand tutoring services and academic-enrichment
activities for all youth, develop and launch workshops
to teach parents how to best interact with schools and
teachers, and to expand peer-support activities to
improve youth’s attitudes toward succeeding in school
and life.
PKZ, a grass-roots project launched
in 2006 by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, provides Parramore
children with pre-kindergarten education, health care,
jobs, mentoring, tutoring and after-school programs —
such as sports, arts and technology programs — to help
ensure a smooth transition to adulthood.
The mission of
PKZ, which is patterned after the nationally acclaimed
Harlem Children’s Zone in New York, is to transform
Orlando’s most distressed neighborhoods into a healthy
place for children.
“Our goal is to
engage every child in Parramore in positive, quality
programming,” Dyer said. “That doesn’t happen without
support from responsible community partners like AT&T.
Their generous contributions will help transform the
lives of Orlando’s most at-risk youth.”
The Parramore
Heritage Community, a 1.4-square-mile neighborhood in
the heart of downtown Orlando, is home to 2,066
children, with 73 percent of them living in poverty.
Children living in poverty are more likely than other
children to perform below grade level in school, have
high truancy and dropout rates, become teen parents and
end up in child abuse and juvenile crime systems.
For more
information visit att.com
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