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Woman's Life Insurance Society Enlists Former First Lady Barbara Bush to Promote Family Literacy

(Minneapolis, Minn.) - Former First Lady Barbara Bush will be the keynote speaker at the Woman's Life® National Convention in Minneapolis, Minn. Family literacy -- the number one cause of Mrs. Bush and of Woman's Life -- will be the topic of Mrs. Bush's speech on Mon., Aug. 10, 1998, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. At a luncheon following the address, Janice Whipple, national president and chairman of the board for Woman's Life, will present a $20,000 check to Mrs. Bush to benefit the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Already involved in hundreds of fund raising and literacy events through its more than 300 active local Chapters, Mrs. Whipple will call on Woman's Life convention delegates to officially accept literacy as a national cause of the organization.

Throughout her years in public life, Mrs. Bush volunteered in and supported hundreds of charity and humanitarian causes, but literacy remains her number one cause. She believes, and so do the experts, that if more people could read, write and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving many of the problems plaguing our society today. In 1990, she helped develop the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, whose mission is to support the development of family literacy programs; break the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy; and establish literacy as a value in every American family. She currently serves as honorary chair of the Foundation, hosts its annual fund raiser, "A Celebration of Reading," and regularly donates a portion of her proceeds to the Foundation's causes.

Woman's Life likewise believes that literacy often is a determining factor in helping families gain financial independence. "The ability to read, write and speak are fundamental to a woman's ability to take control of her financial future, to understand her problems and discover solutions," confirms Janice Whipple, national president and chairman of the board for Woman's Life. Growing research shows that because mothers play a central role in supporting their children's education, literate mothers are the strongest weapon available in the fight against illiteracy. But sadly, we find that 65 percent of the 90 million illiterate Americans are women. For this reason, Woman's Life is asking its members to adopt literacy as one of the Society's national causes next week at its 29th National Convention.

The Woman's Life 29th National Convention will be held at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Hilton in Minneapolis, Minn. from Aug. 9-11, 1998. Close to 400 people from throughout the United States and Canada are expected to attend. Being a family-oriented organization, the convention audience is comprised not only of delegates elected by their local Woman's Life Chapter, but also the delegates' spouses and children. Held every four years, convention delegates are called upon to elect the Society's officers and to determine its focus for the next four years.

"Tomorrow's Future Begins Today," the convention's theme, has particular relevance to the literacy program the fraternal benefit society has promoted for the past 18 months and now intends to name as a national cause. "Indeed, there is not one issue that can have greater impact on the lives of women and children tomorrow than giving them literacy skills today," confirms Mrs. Whipple. "An organization whose mission is 'Ä excelling at enabling women to become financially empowered and independent Ä' could not overlook its compelling obligation to address this issue."

"We didn't pick literacy as a focus because Barbara Bush was coming to our convention. We invited Mrs. Bush because we identified literacy as a significant and critical issue for women," emphasizes Whipple. "Woman's Life's efforts to promote family literacy have had, and will continue to have, a dramatic effect on the lives of women and their families."

Woman's Life Insurance Society is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society created more than 100 years ago to help women protect themselves and their families from the unexpected and the unplanned. To achieve that mission, Woman's Life provides affordable family life insurance protection and annuity products. Fraternal benefits, like scholarship programs and cancer and disaster benefits further protect families from unplanned or extraordinary financial burdens. And, through local chapters, members participate in volunteer service projects and social events, as well as educational and leadership programs.

The Woman's Life Insurance Society Home Office is located in Port Huron, Michigan. By the end of 1997, the Society counted almost 70,000 amongst its membership and collected almost $18 million in revenues. Its local Chapters throughout the United States and Canada were responsible for more than 60,000 acts of community service, 1,402 fraternal events and more than a quarter of a million volunteer service hours. These activities resulted in $344,408 in funds raised and donated to people in need and other charitable organizations. If valued at today's minimum wage rate, the many volunteer service hours donated by Woman's Life members would be equal to another $1.3 million.

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