If you take a look inside Indian Riffle Elementary in Kettering, Ohio or Sullivant, Linden or Lincoln Park Elementary schools in Columbus, chances are you will find a Limited Brands associate helping at-risk children learn the fundamentals of reading. Since our tutoring programs began in 1999, Limited Brands associates have given more than 125,000 hours of their time tutoring almost 1,700 young students to help improve their reading skills.

And the results are as impressive as the numbers. While different reading assessments are applied to gauge critical skills at the various Columbus-based schools, we do know that each individual school continues to make meaningful progress and the tutoring programs certainly contribute to that progress. Tutoring volunteers feel that their positive reinforcement and consistent one-on-one engagement with the children help the children at all three schools develop a positive attitude toward learning and increase their confidence in themselves and their abilities. This is especially important when you consider that over 80% of the children at each school are economically disadvantaged. ColumbusReads tutoring and mentoring provides much needed support in the schools and strives to prepare children for first grade while instilling a positive attitude toward learning. In addition, feedback from both Reads volunteers and parents praise the efforts of the program and both groups confirm the progress children make during the school year. And, we do know that classroom attendance actually increases on tutoring days.

For more information about OhioReads, visit www.OhioReads.org.

ColumbusReads was the model program for Governor Bob Taft's (1998-2006) OhioReads initiative to recruit 20,000 volunteer reading tutors for Ohio's kindergarten through fourth grade students to ensure they pass the reading portion of the fourth grade proficiency test. The program started in the spring of the 1999 school year, as a pilot with 400 Limited Brands associate volunteer reading tutors in three Columbus elementary schools. The pilot program produced measurable behavioral and academic improvements in the children and was a very positive experience for Limited Brands associates.

Based on these successes, 600 tutors were provided to five elementary schools for the 1999-2000 school year. Each tutor provided two children with 30 minutes of one-on-one reading tutoring twice a week. ColumbusReads tutors were in four schools two days per week and conducted a test program of four days of tutoring per week at Sullivant Elementary. The test program proved to be quite successful, with Sullivant Elementary students improving from a 28% mastery level in the fall of 1999 to a 98% mastery level on the same assessment in the spring of 2000.

Due to the successful results of the pilot program at Sullivant Elementary, The Columbus Public Schools superintendent asked Limited Brands to provide tutors four days per week for the 2000-2001 school year. To accommodate that request, we provided 600 associates to three schools. We also expanded our Company's reach by creating NewYorkReads and KetteringReads programs.

In February 2001, President George W. Bush visited our tutors and students at Sullivant Elementary in an effort to kick off his education reform. During our 2000-2001 school year, our Reads Program also received national recognition by winning the "Outstanding Friend of Public Education Award" from the Horace Mann League of America. In 2002, the Reads Program received American Business Media's William D. Littleford Award for Corporate Community Service.

The tutoring and mentoring program is successful because of the extraordinary relationship between Limited Brands, the business community and the public school systems. We urge other businesses and organizations to develop tutoring and mentoring programs in their communities