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FIRSTRUST BANK TO SPONSOR CENTER FOR LITERACY’S ANNUAL READING WRITERS EVENT ON DECEMBER 7

The Annual Fundraiser Will Recognize “Literacy Champions” in Philadelphia Region

PHILADELPHIA (December XX, 2009) – The Center for Literacy (CFL), the nation’s largest community-based nonprofit literacy provider today announced this year’s “Literacy Champions” for its annual Reading Writers celebration event, which will be held at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre on December 7, 2009. The Literacy Champions are Hope A. Comisky, Congressman Chaka Fattah, Monica Yant Kinney and Sonia Sanchez. The event is a celebration of the power of the written and spoken word and will recognize leaders in the Philadelphia community who have been champions for promoting the importance of literacy.

“This year’s Literacy Champions consist of four people and one company who have made significant contributions in literacy education and who work tirelessly to improve literacy in our region,” said JoAnn Weinberger, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Literacy. “In addition to recognizing this year’s Literacy Champions, we also want to thank Firstrust as this year’s sponsor. Literacy is an important part of the Firstrust history and we are thrilled to partner with a company that shares our passion and wants to play an active role in helping eliminate illiteracy in Philadelphia.”

“I learned the value of literacy and education early in life from my grandfather, Firstrust’s Founder, Samuel A. Green. When he immigrated to the United States from Hungary, he quickly recognized the importance of learning to read and write in English so he could realize his dreams,” said Richard J. Green, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Firstrust. “Increasingly, literacy is important to us at Firstrust, , and as businesses, we have an obligation to work toward the eradication of illiteracy because our entire community benefits from a more literate citizenry.”

This year’s Literacy Champions include:

Hope A. Comisky, Esquire - Hope A. Comisky is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Pepper Hamilton LLP and serves as Professional Responsibility Counsel.  In this role, Ms. Comisky provides advice to Pepper lawyers on conflicts and related professional responsibility issues.  Ms. Comisky is a Center for Literacy board member and its former chair (she was not aware of her nomination).

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Congressman Chaka Fattah - Experienced in all three levels of government-local, state and federal-Congressman Fattah spent 12 years in the Pennsylvania Legislature; he served six years as a state representative, and six years as a state senator.  Congressman Fattah has held key leadership roles in both the Pennsylvania Higher Education Facilities Authority and the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, roles in which he helped 1.3 million students from Pennsylvania attend college.  In 1986, he founded the annual Fattah Conference on Higher Education, which has motivated thousands of students to pursue graduate school opportunities.  He has served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, on the Board of Trustees for Lincoln University, Temple University, Pennsylvania State University, and Community College of Philadelphia.

Monica Yant Kinney - Monica Yant Kinney is a metro columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and author.  She has written extensively about political corruption, poverty, and gun violence, traveling between Philadelphia, its suburbs, and South Jersey.  Her columns and advocacy has been widely recognized and she appears frequently on television, radio, and philly.com.  Kinney joined the Inquirer in 1996; in 2001, at age 30, she became the youngest woman to hold the title of metro columnist.  Throughout her career, she has covered topics as varied as television and welfare reform, urban blight and suburban trends.  She co-authored a series on the worst mass murder in modern city history.  She is also a former CFL tutor.

Sonia Sanchez - Sonia Sanchez is the author of over 16 books and a National and International lecturer on Black Culture and Literature, Women’s Liberation, Peace and Racial Justice.  She is the recipient of the Harper Lee Award, 2004, Alabama Distinguished Writer, and the National Visionary Leadership Award for 2006.  She is the recipient of the 2005 Leeway Foundation Transformational Award.  Currently, Sonia Sanchez is one of 20 African American women featured in “Freedom Sisters,” an interactive exhibition created by the Cincinnati Museum Center and Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition and she was the recipient of the Robert Creeley award in March of 2009.  Ms. Sanchez is a longtime resident of Philadelphia.

IBM (Corporate Literacy Champion) - Education around the world faces systemic challenges in curriculum, teacher training, and retention.  IBM’s multifaceted response includes creating the Reinventing Education program, which brings the right groups together to identify barriers, develop solutions, and implement them via the BlueSky open source portal.  One of their key literacy initiatives, the Reading Companion grant program, is working to implement their innovative Reading Companion voice-recognition software several countries and schools.  The technology is currently in use in more than 700 schools and nonprofit organizations in two countries.  In addition, more than 10 million children have benefited from their early childhood interactive learning centers.

About The Center for Literacy(Insert boilerplate)

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About Firstrust BankFounded in 1934 and currently in its third generation of ownership, Firstrust is a privately-held bank with assets of $2.5 billion. Safe and Sound for 75 years, Firstrust is a Small Business Administration (SBA) preferred lender, and provides both retail and commercial services through its 24 banking offices located in Bucks, Burlington, Chester, Lehigh, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Continuing to meet the needs of its customers, Firstrust offers a wide variety of deposit products, consumer and business loan options, commercial real estate mortgages and cash-management products. For more information, visit firstrust.com or call 800-220-BANK.