James Earl Jones Joins Verizon SuperPages and the Durham Literacy Center to Kick Off Black History Month With 'Poetry Out Loud'

James Earl Jones Joins Verizon SuperPages and the Durham Literacy Center to Kick Off Black History Month With 'Poetry Out Loud' 'Darth Vader' Inspires Young Students to Read DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon SuperPages and the Durham Literacy Center join James Earl Jones, renowned actor and Verizon SuperPages spokesperson, in encouraging young people to read at this month's "Poetry Out Loud" event to kick off Black History Month. Jones will share the value of the written word with students when he reads selected poems at the Community Family Life & Recreation Center at Lyons Park on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. This event is NOT open to the public, but media are invited to attend. Jones will discuss the importance of literacy and read selected poems, including O Black and Unknown Bards, by James Weldon Johnson, to 120 high school students, 35 GED students from the Literacy Center's Teen Career Academy and Lyon Park, 20 children from Head Start and 20 adult literacy students from Durham Technical Community College. Immediately following Jones' reading, the Durham Literacy Center will announce a writing contest to feature adult learners and out of school youth. During the event, Verizon SuperPages will donate $35,000 to the Durham Literacy Council to support the "SuperPages at Sundown" literacy program. SuperPages at Sundown will combine after school reading enrichment for at-risk children and youth with parent/child family literacy workshops. The program will be launched in cooperation with the Durham County Library's Summer Reading Program and will be sustained throughout the year at schools and community sites throughout Durham County. According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 92 million adults in the United States -- almost 48 percent of the population -- have very low- or low- literacy skills. Reading and writing at these levels make it difficult to earn a living wage and everyday tasks become extraordinary challenges. For the 40 million adults in the United States with very low literacy skills, it is a struggle to read to their children or help with schoolwork. As a result, Verizon has initiated a number of literacy programs to address the needs of those affected by illiteracy and low-literacy skills, including volunteers, students and athletes. James Earl Jones appears on behalf of Verizon's literacy initiatives and believes strongly in the power and joy of reading. Jones is well known for his stage and film roles as well as voice work in notable projects including The Lion King (Mufusa) and Star Wars (Darth Vader), and performances in The Great White Hope, Fences, and, most recently, On Golden Pond at The Kennedy Center. About Verizon Information Services/SuperPages Based in the Dallas area, Verizon Information Services is a directory content provider for communications products and services, with approximately $4.1 billion in revenues. Verizon Information Services provides the nation's best multi-platform directory and business information service, through its Verizon SuperPages, http://www.superpages.com/ [Verizon SuperPages.com], and SuperPages On the Go. SuperPages On the Go is offered on Get It Now(SM) services through Verizon Wireless and other carriers. The company also is the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. and the first to provide a Hispanic online shopping information resource, http://www.superpages.com/espanol [SuperPages.com en Espanol]. Verizon Information Services is a unit of http://www.verizon.com/ [Verizon Communications Inc.] Source: Verizon SuperPages CONTACT: Erica Warley of Verizon SuperPages, +1-972-453-7337, or mobile, +1-202-669-5735, or erica.warley@verizon.com Web site: http://www.superpages.com/ http://www.superpages.com/espanol http://www.verizon.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment