Atlanta

FOR RELEASE: March 12, 2002

General Motors Donates $5,000 To Motorsports Math

Atlanta -General Motors donated $5,000 to the Atlanta Journal Constitution News for Kids segment to enliven the math curriculum of 6,410 local area sixth-graders. The $5,000 funds the News for Kids program, Motorsports Math, which uses real racing statistics to create math questions for students. It also pays for classroom subscriptions-a daily newspaper is provided to each student participating.

"By becoming a News for Kids sponsor, General Motors' Motorsports Math program has made it possible for Georgia students to get excited about math," said Naomi Ross, News for Kids educational services manager.

Motorsports Math runs 13 weeks. Each lesson plan incorporates racing facts from the paper, and tests students' skills in everything from simple graphs to long division. Each week ends with a trivia question, and for the lucky student who gets it right, a prize. GM Southeast Regional Manager Bill Powell said, "GM is incredibly proud to be part of this program. It's a great way for us to get involved with the community and use an integral part of our business, GM Racing, to help students learn the basics of math."

Teachers who opted into the program attended a training program led by Ross at C.W. Davis Middle School in Flowery Branch. Ross concentrated on aspects of Motorsports Math, but also showed teachers how to use different parts of the newspaper for assignments in all classroom subjects.

"We are delighted that this sponsorship allows teachers more flexibility in the classroom and enables students to apply real life situations to their classroom lessons. This is a unique and wonderful way for General Motors to reach out to the under-16 crowd," Powell said.

General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2001, GM earned $1.5 billion on sales of $177.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about 362,000 people globally. GM has been the world's automotive sales leader since 1931. More information on General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.