The Posse Foundation to Honor Philanthropic and Educational Leaders At Annual Gala


ADVISORY, May 21, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) --


                    THE POSSE FOUNDATION HONORS
 RICO BLANCAFLOR, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY POSSE ALUMNUS 
 GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO., Award accepted by LLOYD BLANKFEIN, CHAIRMAN AND 
 CEO 
 DEVAL PATRICK, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSSETTS, and 
 DIANE PATRICK, FIRST LADY OF MASSACHUSSETTS; PARTNER, ROPES & GRAY 
 LLP
 NANCY J. VICKERS, PRESIDENT, BRYN MAWR COLLEGE 

                 AT THE 2007 POSSE FOUNDATION GALA,
               EMCEED BY LESLEY STAHL of "60 MINUTES"
    SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY STEPHEN COLBERT of THE COLBERT REPORT

 WHAT:  The annual Posse Foundation Gala: An Evening of Stars.  Each 
 year the Posse Gala honors individuals and organizations that have 
 made an extraordinary difference in the field of education or have 
 been incredible role models for young people.  

 Posse is a youth leadership development and college access program. 
 Posse finds young leaders from urban public schools and sends them in 
 teams (Posses) to some of the top colleges and universities in the 
 nation.  Since 1989, over 1800 young people have won more than $175 
 million in leadership scholarships from 26 elite colleges and 
 universities.  Today Posse recruits students from Boston, Chicago, 
 Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. and just launched its 
 Atlanta office in April.

 WHY:   Posse exists to help address persistent issues of inequity in 
 access to higher education.  Posse focuses on helping top colleges to 
 expand their definition of merit by including leadership and extra-
 curricular achievement as part of the admissions process.  Posse 
 develops teams of young people (Posses) to act as both traveling 
 support systems for each other and also as catalysts for positive 
 change on university campuses.  
          * The Posse Foundation has achieved phenomenal success with 
            a 90 percent college graduation rate-far higher than the 
            national average.
          * Goldman, Sachs & Co. has been a major supporter of Posse 
            for many years. The Goldman Sachs Foundation helped to 
            launch Posse Los Angeles with a $1 million grant. In 
            addition to their generous donations, Goldman, Sachs & Co. 
            has hired 31 Posse Scholars as interns over the past three 
            years and four Posse Alumni full time.
          * Bryn Mawr College is an extraordinary Posse partner 
            institution, and under President Vickers' leadership has 
            awarded more than 60 full tuition scholarships to Posse 
            Scholars from Boston.
          * First Lady Diane and Governor Deval Patrick have been 
            strong advocates for Posse.  Mrs. Patrick sits on Posse's 
            national board of directors.  Both have been involved with 
            the program for several years.  As the First Lady and 
            Governor of Massachusetts, they have made the promotion of 
            equity in education a top priority statewide. 
 WHO:
          * Lesley Stahl, Correspondent, 60 Minutes
          * Stephen Colbert , The Colbert Report
          * Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 
            Goldman, Sachs & Co.
          * Nancy J. Vickers, President, Bryn Mawr College
          * Michael Ainslie, Chair, The Posse Foundation National
            Board of Directors
          * Deborah Bial, Founder and President, The Posse Foundation 
          * Posse Foundation Alumni

 WHEN:  Wednesday, May 23, 2007    WHERE:  Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers
        6:30-7:30 p.m. cocktails           23rd St. and West Side
        7:30-10 p.m. dinner and            Highway
        program                            New York, NY 10011

            

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