Denver’s OpenWorld Learning Wins Xerox Office Makeover

“We’re going to make this office organized, productive and inspired!” says Brice Cooper of HGTV’s ’Design on a Dime’

DENVER, July 26, 2006 -- Every year, OpenWorld Learning helps nearly 600 elementary school students enhance their basic reading, writing and math skills, as well as learn advanced computer skills through after-school and summer programs. Now, it’s the nonprofit’s turn to receive some help.

Judges have selected the organization as Denver’s most outdated nonprofit office and winner of Xerox Corporation’s (NYSE: XRX) “Helping Hands” Office Makeover Contest. The prize: a document technology and design refresh worth approximately $15,000.

OpenWorld Learning has put its own technology and design needs on the back burner in order to successfully teach its students the value and importance of technology in today’s society. Students in the program learn advanced skills of the information age - computer animation, Internet research, multimedia presentation and computer programming. More than 80 percent of the program’s participants qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program, and they typically do not have access to technology at home. As students complete the program’s certification projects, they earn prizes to recognize their hard work including computers for their homes, which allow them to become technology leaders within their families as well.

As winner of Xerox’s “Helping Hands” Office Makeover Contest, OpenWorld Learning will receive an office technology assessment from Xerox. Based on the outcome, Xerox will provide the right technology mix, drawing from its portfolio of Phaser™ color printers, software, and Xerox WorkCentre™ digital multifunction systems, which print, copy, scan and fax. The organization also receives design services from Brice Cooper, host and designer of HGTV’s popular show Design on a Dime, and office furniture from The HON Company.

“Our organization has grown so much over the past year and a half,” says Barbara Youmans, chief operating officer at OpenWorld Learning. “We desperately need new technology and an efficient work space to continue to grow, but we can’t afford those things until we grow - it’s a Catch-22. This makeover will really help us serve our students better and help us be more effective in our fundraising efforts.”

“Slow inkjet printers, a mish-mash of décor and makeshift furniture are a far cry from reflecting the community service and commitment to education that OpenWorld Learning represents,” says Cooper. “We’re going to make this office organized, productive and inspired!”

Struggling with inefficient document technology has impacted the office’s productivity. The organization relies solely on slow and costly inkjet printers to produce its 20-page curriculum guides for its 600 students and information packets for potential donors. “It takes us hours to print our materials,” says Youmans.

“By implementing the right mix of hardware and software, we’re going to find ways for OpenWorld Learning to work smarter,” says Susan Goldberg, who manages Xerox sales agencies in the Denver area. “The makeover will serve as an example of how small changes in technology and design can result in big boosts in productivity for other nonprofits and small businesses.”

Currently, the organization has haphazard furnishings, including desks made from plywood sitting on file cabinets. The HON Company will replace the nonprofit’s makeshift furniture with desks, chairs and storage systems designed to make the office more comfortable and efficient.

OpenWorld Learning’s mission is to support children’s school success by tapping the power of digital technology and peer teaching to ignite learning after school, during summers, and at home. The makeover will be completed in early August. For more information on Xerox’s “Helping Hands” contest, visit www.xerox.com/helpinghands.

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Shelly Dates

Media Contact

Xerox Corporation

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