WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 29 / PRNewswire/ -- The Delaware Mentoring Council will award the newly instituted Governor's Award for Youth Mentoring: Business Community to Barclays. The award will be presented at a National Mentoring Month event at the University of Delaware. The selection of Barclays was based on its model of corporate community service and the dedication of its employees in empowering the youth of East Side Charter School, one of Barclays community partners in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Delaware Mentoring Council (DMC) is awarding Barclays for encouraging its employees to become involved with the students of East Side Charter School through one-on-one mentoring. Additionally, Barclays has secured a grant to support an in-school mentor coordinator and is an active leader in the training of mentors. Barclays has worked closely with the administration at East Side Charter School to ensure that the program also follows the standards for safe and effective mentoring as identified by the DMC. In response to the support by Barclays employees, three other local businesses have also begun to support the East Side Charter School's mentoring program. The East Side Charter School now has over 110 mentors.

"We are honoring Barclays based on its extraordinary support and commitment to mentoring of Delaware's youth as a method of helping youth realize their full potential," said Claudio Cerullo, Ph.D., Director of the Delaware Mentoring Council. "The example set by their management in support of mentoring reflects the type of top-down approach to community service, and the mentoring initiative in particular, that is critical for a successful program. We are very happy to honor Barclays and hope to offer this model to other businesses as an example of how to truly make a difference in the State of Delaware."

Barclays has further supported the school beyond providing mentorship. For the Barclays annual "Make a Difference Day" event, over 800 students from the East Side Charter School and Thomas Edison Charter School, also located in Wilmington, visited Barclays headquarters for a full-day of introductions to simple concepts of saving money and setting life goals. The Barclaycard USA Cycle Challenge, a nine-week, 3,000 mile cross-country ride raised over $70,000 for the East Side Charter's new Computer Learning Center.

"Being recognized with such a prestigious award validates that Barclays employees are truly making a difference in the communities in which we do business and in the State of Delaware," said Lloyd M. Wirshba, CEO of Barclays U.S. credit card business. "Barclays fosters the spirit of community in its employees, and this award reflects our commitment to corporate social responsibility."

The Governor's Award for Youth Mentoring will be presented to Barclays at the University of Delaware, Gore Recital Hall, Roselle Center for the Arts. The evening will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by a formal program at 7:00 p.m. The event is free and open to members of the public who would like to learn more about the mentoring initiative in Delaware and help honor those from the business community that support this effort. To attend the National Mentoring Month event, please contact the Delaware Mentoring Council at:

delawarementoring@udel.edu.

For additional information about Barclays community initiatives, please visit http://www.barclays.com/community.

About the Delaware Mentoring Council

The Delaware Mentoring Council is a coalition of mentor programs, local corporations and businesses, government agencies and organizations committed to providing mentors to youth in need throughout the State of Delaware. The Delaware Mentoring Council strives to identify and promote best practices and standards for mentoring programs, raise awareness and promote the recruitment of mentors, work to insure adequate levels of resources to support mentoring programs statewide, and support efforts to provide and improve training, technical assistance and evaluation of mentoring programs.

Formed by Governor Tom Carper in 1998, and formally established by Executive Order of Governor Minner in 2002, the Delaware Mentoring Council comprises representatives from education, government, businesses and mentoring service providers with the common goal of increasing the impact of mentoring across the state. The Delaware Mentoring Council advocates for the mentoring of children in schools and communities with the ultimate goal of providing a mentor for every child who needs one. The council believes that youth who benefit from mentoring have a greater chance of becoming well-adjusted, responsible, contributing members of society. For more information about the Delaware Mentoring Council, please visit http://www.delawarementoring.org,
e-mail us at delawarementoring@udel.edu or call (302) 831-0520.

About Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. It is one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalization. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 127,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 25 million customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.

Headquartered in Wilmington, DE, Barclays U.S. credit card business has more than 50 partnerships with some of the country's most successful travel, entertainment, retail and financial institutions including US Airways, AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Carnival Cruise Lines, BJ's Wholesale Club, Travelocity, Gulf Oil, and others. The company employs more than 1,400 associates in Wilmington and Colorado Springs, CO, and was named a Top Employer in Delaware in 2007. For more information please visit www.barclaycardus.com.

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