In celebration of Black History Month, The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) is extending its ongoing support of local schools by donating copies of The Real Slam Dunk to more than 2,000 elementary school students in Detroit, Pontiac and Howell.

In addition, copies of the book were donated to City Mission, an after-school tutoring program in the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit. PBG is sponsoring a number of other activities in the three school districts to promote literacy.

Written by African-American author Charisse K. Richardson, the book was developed to capture the reading interest of children - particularly the reluctant reader - and expose them to a world of career possibilities beyond professional athletics. The Real Slam Dunk uses basketball as a metaphor for the "game of life," and encourages children to recognize and use their talents to pursue their dreams.

"Literacy is a key to unlocking the potential in our children and we all have a vested interest in helping them discover and develop their abilities," said Mardi Woods, Director of Community Relations for The Pepsi Bottling Group in Detroit. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to share Ms. Richardson's inspirational book with so many local children and look forward to continuing our work with these schools to promote literacy."

PBG also commissioned Ms. Richardson to design a supplementary lesson plan for teachers to accompany The Real Slam Dunk. It offers intriguing career exploration exercises and activities designed to bring real-life experience into the classroom.

The three participating school districts are each holding an essay contest based on the book. All essay writers will be invited to an awards ceremony hosted by the Atlanta-based author, Ms. Richardson, as well as special guests. The individual awards ceremonies will take place at John R. King Elementary School and Crairy Elementary School in Detroit on March 14 and at Village Elementary School in Howell on March 15.

The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (www.pbg.com) is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages with operations in the U.S., Canada, Greece, Russia and Spain. PBG has a major manufacturing facility in the City of Detroit and employs approximately 2,500 throughout the State of Michigan.

Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc.

Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc.

The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages — some of the world's most recognized consumer brands. PBG became a publicly-traded company in March 1999 through one of the largest initial public offerings in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. PBG generates nearly $11 billion in annual sales. It operates in the United States, Canada, Greece, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Turkey, accounting for more than one-half of the Pepsi-Cola beverages sold in North America, and about 40 percent of the Pepsi-Cola system volume worldwide.

More from Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc.