Charlotte Bobcats Team With Borders And Reading Is Fundamental
For Give The Gift Of Reading Holiday Book Drive

Borders Books & Music customers have the opportunity to share the joy of reading with children in the Charlotte community this holiday season through Borders’ Give the Gift of Reading holiday book drive, co-sponsored by the Charlotte Bobcats, National Basketball Association (NBA) and Reading is Fundamental (RIF). As part of the book drive, customers in Charlotte may select children’s books of their choice from any Borders store now through December 20, 2003, and contribute them at the time of purchase to this cause.

“Our organization is committed to helping children develop a love of reading and this book drive is a wonderful avenue to help cultivate the many gifts that reading provide,” said Ed Tapscott, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Charlotte Bobcats and Charlotte Sting. “The holiday season is a time of joy and giving and we are proud to assist in supplying reading materials to our community’s future leaders.”

The Bobcats and Sting organizations will actively participate in the book drive by hosting a reading session at each of the two Charlotte-area Borders locations. Tapscott and Sting guard and Charlotte native Andrea Stinson will read to a group on Saturday, December 13, at 2 p.m. at the Morrocroft Store (3900 Colony Road, Charlotte, NC 28211) and Bobcats Director of Basketball Relations Dell Curry will read on Tuesday, December 16, at 11 a.m. at the Stonecrest location (7836 Rea Road, Charlotte, NC 28277). Borders locations in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Cary and Raleigh will also participate in the book drive.

Books collected through this initiative will be used locally to support the Charlotte Bobcats and Charlotte Sting “Read to Achieve” literacy program.

“The Give the Gift of Reading book drive is a great collaboration for the NBA and Borders, and the result will be that thousands of kids will now have a book to call their own during the holidays,” said Kathy Behrens, NBA vice president of community relations.

“We are thrilled to join with Borders and the NBA, both long-standing supporters of Reading Is Fundamental, on this important effort to deliver the gift of reading to deserving children and families this holiday season,” said Carol Rasco, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reading Is Fundamental.

Donated children’s books can be favorite childhood storybooks or, for those needing recommendations, customers can access Borders’ holiday gift center at www.bordersstores.com to view children’s titles featured in the 2003 Borders holiday catalog as well as the best titles of 2003, based on sales and critical acclaim.

About Borders Group
Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company employs 32,000 people worldwide and operates over 425 Borders domestic superstores; 36 international Borders stores, located primarily in the U.K. and the Pacific Rim; 36 Books etc. stores throughout Great Britain; and approximately 755 Waldenbooks stores in malls across America. Teamed with Amazon.com, the company also offers online shopping through Borders.com (www.borders.com) and Waldenbooks.com (www.waldenbooks.com). More detailed information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com. Information regarding Borders store locations, in-store events and title reservation is available through www.bordersstores.com.

About NBA Read to Achieve
The NBA’s Read to Achieve program is a year-round campaign to help young people develop a life-long love for reading and encourage adults to read regularly to children. Reaching an estimated 50 million children a year, Read to Achieve is the most extensive educational outreach initiative in the history of professional sports. In addition to being supported by all 30 NBA teams, 16 WNBA teams, the eight teams that make up the NBA's new minor league, the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), Read to Achieve is supported by the NBA's officials, parents and wives of players organizations, and the NBA Players Association and Retired Players Association.

About Reading Is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those families who need them most. The oldest and largest children’s and family nonprofit literacy organization in the U.S., RIF operates through 435,000 volunteers at 23,000 sites nationwide. RIF programs annually serve 5 million children of all ages, most of whom are at risk of educational failure, with a focus on those from birth to age 11. Supported by the U.S. Department of Education, corporations, foundations, community organizations, and individuals, RIF has provided more than 250 million books for children to choose and keep since its founding in 1966.