WHO:     Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones
              Children's Museum of Richmond President and CEO Karen Coltrane
              Verizon Area Manager Randolph Dillard

WHAT:   Special guest reader participation by Mayor Jones in celebration of
              National Reading Month

WHEN:   Wednesday, March 4, 2009
              11:30 a.m.                                   

WHERE: Children's Museum of Richmond
              2626 W. Broad Street

BACKGROUND:
Educators and literacy advocates nationwide celebrate National Reading Month during the month of March. The Children's Museum of Richmond (CMoR) has a month-long calendar of activities planned to celebrate National Reading Month, and Mayor Jones is kicking-off those activities by participating as a guest reader during Story Time at the museum.

Children from Chimborazo Elementary, Fairfield Court Elementary and VCU Head Start program are expected to be visitors at the museum for the reading. The museum also expects children and families from the general public to attend.

National Reading Month activities are central to CMoR's mission of service to the Greater Richmond community: to enrich the lives of children, youth, families, and those who care for them by providing experiences that stimulate discovery, learning, and understanding about themselves and the world around them.

Verizon Foundation and its Thinkfinity.org website are partners with the museum on the project. Thinkfinity.org is an online educational website that is available to the public free of charge.

Contact:  Tammy Hawley, (804) 646-3110