Borders(R) Raised Over $1.1 Million for Corporate Literacy Partner First Book

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders raised over $1.1 million on behalf of First Book, an award-winning national literacy organization, during the nationwide holiday giving campaign which ran from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. This is the single largest amount Borders has collected from its customers during the holiday season for First Book. Borders and First Book have united together to provide new books to children in low-income families for the past three years. Borders will pool all of the funds collected into Borders gift cards and give the cards to various local community recipient organizations affiliated with First Book such as Head Start centers, libraries and after-school initiatives.

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"We are grateful to our customers who generously gave cash donations at our stores this holiday season to benefit First Book," said Borders Group Chief Marketing Officer Michael Tam. "Because of the success of our giving campaign this year, thousands more children in low-income families will now have their first brand new book to read. We are happy to again unite with First Book in creating future passionate readers."

Borders kicked off the holiday giving campaign by donating $50,000 to First Book during Educator Savings Week, which took place in all Borders and Waldenbooks stores nationwide from Sept. 25 through Oct. 2 to honor educators and celebrate their life-changing work. Since November 2005, Borders and First Book have raised more than $2.7 million to provide new books to hundreds of thousands of children through 1,200 community programs in 49 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

"We are once again amazed and grateful for the incredible generosity of Borders and its customers during the 2007 holiday season," said First Book President Kyle Zimmer. "Your contributions will allow children in need to experience the joy of reading and owning new books, often for the very first time. A recent note from a child we serve summed up the impact of your gifts best - 'thank you for the book, I couldn't get my nose out of it.' Your commitment means a brighter future for millions of children."

About Borders, Inc.

Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc., a $4.1 billion global retailer of books, music, movies, periodicals and gift and stationery items with over 30,000 employees and more than 1,100 stores worldwide primarily operating under the Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) brand names. Currently, there are over 500 Borders superstores in the U.S. that carry up to 200,000 titles. Customers enjoy a comfortable shopping experience, as well as a host of in-store events and community-centered activities when they visit their local Borders stores. For more information, visit http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/ .

About First Book

First Book is a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Through hundreds of local Advisory Boards, the First Book National Book Bank, and the First Book Marketplace, the organization provides an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring, and family literacy programs. First Book has provided more than 50 million new books to children in need in thousands of communities nationwide. For more information about First Book, please visit http://www.firstbook.org/ or call 866-393-1222.