For_Immediate_Release:
Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR) conducted their annual ‘Back to School Backpack Program’ in India today. The company and employees collectively donated school bags, notebooks and school supplies to about 2600 children from classes I to VII studying in government-run schools in and around Kadugodi village.
This is the third consecutive year that Agere Systems conducts this backpack program in India. Dr. Madhusudan V. Atre, Vice President and Managing Director of Agere Systems India, said during the backpack presentation ceremony, “Agere takes its social commitments very seriously. The company strongly believes in investing in children otherwise deprived of education. Education is the platform of each person’s life, and it assumes far-reaching consequences – especially in the case of economically backward families who cannot provide even the basic primary education to their young children”.
Agere Systems’ employees in India took the initiative to visit rural schools and spoke to the teachers, students and parents to understand the needs. This survey revealed that the inability to buy school supplies contribute significantly to the high drop out rate of rural students. A shortlist of deserving schools was then made based on these interactions.
Till date, close to 4,500 children have benefited from Agere’s ‘Back to School Backpack Program’. This year, children in classes I to IV were given additional lined or square-ruled books, while those in classes V to VII received a geometry equipment set. Teaching kits were also issued to aid teachers in their dedicated efforts.
Agere Systems plans to expand this initiative to support more schools in different avenues in the future.
About Agere Systems
Agere Systems is a global leader in semiconductors for storage, wireless data, and public and enterprise networks. The company's chips and software power a broad range of computing and communications applications, from cell phones, PCs, PDAs, hard disk drives and gaming devices to the world’s most sophisticated wireless and wireline networks. Agere's customers include top manufacturers of consumer electronics, communications and computing equipment. Agere's products connect people to information and entertainment at home, at work and on the road -- enabling the connected lifestyle. For more information, visit the company’s web site at http://www.agere.com
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