Basketball And Literacy: Both A Winning Team

(NAPSA)-Read all about it. A leading professional sports league has dedicated its 100th facility designed to promote literacy among young people.

Led by the efforts of current and former players, the National Basketball Association dedicated a reading and learning center at the J. Churchill Owen Boys & Girls Club in Denver, CO as part of their annual Legacy event during All-Star 2005. The All-Star event includes a number of activities that are scheduled around the league’s annual All-Star game.

The Reading & Learning Centers are part of the league’s massive community outreach effort, known as Read to Achieve, which helps young people develop a life-long love of reading.

In partnership with the NBA Players Association, the NBA and its teams, along with national partners such as Dell, Scholastic Inc. and Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.(r) (RIF) have worked to bring resources and motivation to schools and community-based organizations across the country and around the world.

In addition to hundreds of reading events that current and former players participate in, the league has established Reading and Learning Centers throughout North America, Brazil and South Africa. Each Reading & Learning Center features Dell desktop computers, printers, educational software and thousands of books and educational materials.

The league also provides the center with multimedia equipment and numerous motivational materials, including educational posters and a collection of NBA action photos.

“NBA players, teams and our partners take great pride in what we have accomplished since the inception of the Read to Achieve program,” said Kathleen Behrens, senior vice president community relations. “We have now created 100 Reading & Learning Centers throughout the world and we look forward to reaching even more kids with the message of how important, and how fun, reading is.”

The first Reading & Learning Center was opened at the Eastern Branch of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington during the 2001 All-Star game in Washington, D.C. The Legacy event serves as the NBA’s premiere community initiative during All-Star week.

To learn more, visit the Web site at www.nba.com.