Video: 'Literacy One' Takes to the Skies on November 29

EVERETT, Wash., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing, Cathay Pacific Airways, Room to Read and Scholastic Inc. came together yesterday for the historic, inaugural flight of Literacy One, carrying hundreds of thousands of children's books donated by Scholastic Inc, aboard a new Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Hong Kong and onward to Room to Read libraries in Asia. The Literacy One Day ceremony and takeoff took place on Thursday, November 29 at 1:00pm at the Future of Flight Museum at Boeing's Paine Field in Everett, Washington.

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Honorary guests included Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson, who officially proclaimed Thursday, November 29 to be Literacy One Day by the City of Everett. Room to Read also honored the extraordinary ambassadorship of twelve students from Lakeside School in Seattle, who earlier this month raised a record-breaking $650,000. Also on hand was Scholastic's lovable Clifford the Big Red Dog and supporters of Room to Read's initiatives.

Students participating in the Literacy One Challenge, a year-long fundraising campaign in the United States and Hong Kong to raise funds on behalf of their peers in the developing world, were also recognized for their efforts. Fourteen schools are participating in Hong Kong, along with eleven schools in the United States. The American schools include: Brunswick School, (Greenwich, CT); Forest Hill Elementary (Bay Area, CA); Gig Harbor High School (Gig Harbor, WA), Indian Trail School (Chicago, IL); John F. Kennedy Elementary School (Grafton, WI); Loma Linda Elementary School (Longmont, CO); Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary (Long Island, NY); North High School (Torrance, CA); Pyle Middle School (Bethesda, MD); St. Callistus School (Garden Grove, CA) and St. Francis High School (Mountain View, CA).

"I delivered my first load of books to a rural children's school in Nepal on a yak," said John Wood, Founder and CEO of Room to Read. "Never could I have imagined that seven years later we would be working with these three blue chip companies to fly hundreds of thousands of children's books across the Pacific on a new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft".

By the end of 2007, Room to Read will have distributed over three million books, built over 425 schools, established over 5,000 libraries, developed over 150 computer and language labs and put over 4,000 girls on long-term scholarships. To date, John's vision has helped over 1.7 million children have access to enhanced educational infrastructure. John portrays his experience in his award winning book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, which to date, has been translated into 15 languages.

To view the complete release copy this link into your browser (http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/roomtoread/30650/docs/30650- pressreleasefinal.doc). Contact Info Cindy Lang +1-415-561-3331 x 142 clang@roomtoread.org Tiffany Woolf +1-917-532-3366 Tiffanywoolf33@aol.com