N@N

Bayard Taylor School Hosts Take a Veteran to School Day Monday

^{Published on 2009-11-06 09:06:32 - Market Wire}
 

NEW YORK, NY and HERNDON, VA--(Marketwire - November 6, 2009) - [ RCN Corporation ] (NASDAQ: [ RCNI ]) and HISTORY are partnering on the third annual Take a Veteran to School Day outreach initiative, which links veterans of all ages with young people in schools and communities across America. The initiative runs through Veterans Day, November 11 and complete information can be found on the official web site, [ www.veterans.com ].

Veterans of all ages will participate in the program. Locally, Desert Storm veteran and RCN-New York employee, Dave Lemons will share stories of his service with students and faculty members at [ P.S. 158 Bayard Taylor School ], located at 1458 York Avenue, New York, NY, on Monday, November 9 at 1:45 pm. RCN will provide assembly attendees with t-shirts and wristbands. HISTORY also provides participating schools with curriculum-based educational materials as well as a Veterans Day video produced with the US Department of Education. Over 1100 schools in all 50 states, along with 45 cable systems nationwide, have signed up for this year's program.

"We are delighted to partner with RCN in saluting the men and women who have served our country proudly," said Dr. Libby O'Connell, Senior Vice President of Corporate Outreach and Chief Historian, HISTORY. "Take a Veteran to School Day is something that we at HISTORY are all incredibly proud of and anticipate the program being part of the network's long-lasting legacy."

"RCN is proud to be a supporting partner of this important initiative for a second year, and it's even more special for us this year because the guest speaker is part of the RCN team," said Tony Ontiveros, RCN-New York's vice president & general manager. "First-hand accounts from vets like Dave, whose 11-year military service included being stationed at the Pentagon, bring history books to life for these students allowing them to understand and appreciate the sacrifices these patriots have made on behalf of our country."

HISTORY is also inviting adults to get involved with Thank a Veteran at Work, which encourages employers to take time out of the day to thank the many veterans in workplaces. Tips on how to do this are as simple as organizing a morning get-together with coffee, juice and donuts or asking the boss to send out an email thanking veterans. A complete list of suggestions can be found at [ www.veterans.com ].

Underscoring the initiative is a call to action for citizens to support veterans from all wars by donating to not-for-profit organizations that provide medical care, counseling and aid to families of veterans. The public can do so by visiting [ www.veterans.com ], the official site for the initiative and portal to several different not-for-profit organizations, including the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, the Armed Services YMCA, America's VetDogs and Wounded Warrior Project. HISTORY will be donating up to $50,000 among these organizations as part of its commitment to veterans.

HISTORY will be premiering "WWII in HD," a 10-hour television series the week of November 15, which will give students and adults alike the opportunity to see the story of the war as they have never before -- viewed through the eyes of 12 Americans who fought in or contributed to the war effort. Their stories are told through rare, original color archival footage, never before seen by most Americans. The footage was located during an exhaustive, two-year worldwide search, then preserved and restored, and converted to HD for unprecedented clarity.

About RCN Corporation

RCN Corporation (NASDAQ: [ RCNI ]), [ www.rcn.com ], is a competitive broadband services provider delivering all-digital and high definition video, high-speed internet and premium voice services to residential and small-medium business customers under the brand names of RCN and RCN Business Services, respectively. In addition, through its RCN Metro Optical Networks business unit, RCN delivers fiber-based high-capacity data transport services to large commercial customers, primarily large enterprises and carriers, targeting the metropolitan central business districts in the company's geographic markets. RCN's primary service areas include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley (PA), New York City, Boston and Chicago. (RCNI-G)

HISTORY™ and HISTORY HD™ are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original nonfiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as "How the Earth Was Made," "Ax Men," "Battle 360," "The Universe," and "Ice Road Truckers," as well as acclaimed specials including "102 Minutes That Changed America," "King," "Life After People," "1968 with Tom Brokaw," "Nostradamus: 2012" and "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed." HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, four Primetime Emmy® Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY website, located at [ www.history.com ], is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games, podcasts and more.