More than 600 IBMers in North Carolina Volunteer for     the IBM MentorPlace program      "I wanted to talk with someone who understands me," said Julia*,        a sophomore from Raleigh's Broughton High School. Her IBM MentorPlace         partner is Sung Jun, IBM Global Services employee and Tae Kwon Do          instructor who "wants to make an even greater impact on local youth."          The two met face-to-face at a November kick-off reception hosted by IBM          at the Research Triangle Park Sheraton Imperial Hotel for IBM volunteers         and their Wake County student mentees. Since then, they have engaged        in weekly, online conversations, centered on academic activities, throughout      the fall semester. "I'm so pleased that IBM has been

willing to step up and step out, pairing                  enterprising adults with intellectual and          progressive-minded children," said Bill McNeil, superintendent, Wake County Schools. Wonderful things are sure to come out of this MentorPlace program." Sung Jun is one of more then 340 IBM employees from North Carolina who are contributing their time to serve as online mentors for students from 16 Wake middle and high schools. A similar program is being implemented in Durham County with more than 290 local IBM

volunteers and students from ten middle schools. (These middle schools also are part of IBM's Reinventing Education grant with the Durham Public Schools). "IBM MentorPlace is a good opportunity not only to help the students, but to provide IBM employees with a structured opportunity to volunteer," said Nicole Pride, IBM Corporate Community Relations, who manages the efforts in Wake and Durham. "We believe that our employees' commitment to education will translate into student learning." Significantly, the IBM MentorPlace programs in Wake and Durham are using IBM Learning Village technology as the communications vehicle between mentors and students. The technology, which was developed through IBM's $70 million Reinventing Education initiative, enables secure communication and features online activities that keep the conversations focused on classroom learning. Using IBM Learning Village, teachers also can create their own homepages that mentors, students, and parents can visit to gain important information on what is going on in the classroom and school. "IBM MentorPlace is a volunteer program, and there is no cost for the school system," said Pride. "We are very proud of our partnership and look forward to improve and expand upon our work." *Name has been changed.