Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced grants totaling more than $1.6 million to 18 Newark N.J.-based organizations for programs designed to better prepare young people to meet the challenges of our changing global society.

Eighteen agencies have developed 19 projects that qualify for $20,000 to $125,000 in support under two grant programs focused on children ranging from grades pre- K-12 (see attached list for project descriptions):

Academics Plus - an initiative that supports school- and community-based partnerships that encourage high academic achievement in the areas of science and math studies, as well as college preparedness.
Preparing Newark's Youth for Global Skills - an initiative that supports development of work-based learning programs aimed at building job skills for the 21st century workplace. This program primarily supports programs that provide internships, computer-based training, and leadership development.
The grants are part of the Lucent Foundation's overall efforts to improve academic performance and provide employment and career opportunities for Newark's young people. For example, Lucent has invested more than $1 million to provide employment opportunities for high school and college students during the summer months and after school in collaboration with six community service organizations. And last February, Lucent announced a $250,000 grant to the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute in support of two youth development academies designed to expand the education and leadership training available to high school achievers.

"Newark is demonstrating that it is ripe for change and the focus of Lucent's commitment to the city's long-term growth rests squarely with improving the opportunities for young people," said David Ford, president of the Lucent Technologies Foundation. "We are confident that Newark's future will become infinitely brighter as these young people develop and grow."

There were 90 proposals submitted for consideration from a wide variety of organizations including local arts agencies, churches, cultural groups, universities, and both public and private schools. The majority of the winning proposals involved partnerships between a combination of community agencies. Projects were selected based on the following criteria:

The ability to create or expand innovative models for service or instruction
The ability to create new partnerships or to strengthen the existing capacity of non-profits that serve the youth population
The potential for greatest impact
Promotion of new norms of community behavior for excellence, responsibility, and community service
The potential for sustainability
The Roper Group, a Newark-based public policy consulting firm, provided administrative assistance to the Lucent Foundation for this program. For more information about Lucent funding initiatives in Newark, please send email to the attention of Marcia Brown at foundation@lucent.com.

Lucent Technologies Foundation
The Lucent Technologies Foundation is the charitable arm of Lucent Technologies. In Lucent's 2000 fiscal year, the foundation will contribute about US$50 million around the world toward youth development projects, including education reform, innovative work at the college and university level to support improvement of pre-college education, and scholarship programs that enhance opportunities in science and engineering for under-represented minorities. In addition, the foundation supports a diverse set of community improvement projects in communities around the world where Lucent people work and live. The Global Days of Caring, an annual Lucent volunteer event is also managed by the foundation with about 15,000 employees and retirees contributing their time to causes around the world.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as optical and wireless networks; Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.

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