Press

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Bell Atlantic Foundation has donated $35,000 to the New York State Museum Institute to help fund the Museum's after-school programs, the Museum Club and its teen extension, the Discovery Squad, officials announced today.

"We are absolutely delighted by this generous gift," said Laurie Roberts, the executive director of the Museum Institute, the private, fund-raising arm of the Museum. "With this support, Bell Atlantic continues its important commitment to our community."

The money is to be distributed over two years and will be used to purchase three computers for use by Museum Club students and local families who participate in the nationally recognized Healthy Families America Program. A part-time computer instructor will be hired to tutor students and parents who will also have the opportunity to participate in a mid-day computer tutorial.

"Bell Atlantic is proud to be a part of these programs," said Richard Amadon, director of community relations for Bell Atlantic. "Over the years, Bell Atlantic's philanthropy efforts have focused on education, children's programs, technology and the cultural arts. The Museum has succeeded in bringing all these interests together to benefit families in the Capital Region."

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in education, health and human services, the arts and humanities and civic development in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. For more information, visit www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

The Museum Club was established 10 years ago to address the growing number of unsupervised neighborhood children who visited the Museum after school. The Museum is a program of the State Education Department and is committed to providing such creative programming. The President's Council on the Arts and Humanities has cited the Museum Club for its innovative learning opportunities for urban youth.

The Museum Club includes two sections: the Museum Club, which caters to approximately 50 children, and the Discovery Squad, in which 16 teens participate. Many of the students are from Albany's South End and Arbor Hill communities. Young people may find themselves working with renowned artist/teacher Tim Rollins to create their own mural based on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches in the Museum on one day, and visiting with Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings on another. Other accomplishments include distributing more than 1,500 toys to needy Capital Region families around the holidays, improving reading and math skills through tutoring and computer workshops, and developing animal/plant classification charts.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With 42 million telephone access lines and eight million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23 companies.

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