Verizon has received the first Quills Corporate Literacy Award in recognition of the company’s support of literacy programs throughout the United States.

The first Quill Awards were named Tuesday evening during a star-studded ceremony at Pier Sixty in New York City, hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, with special appearances by Jon Stewart and Robert Klein. Celebrity presenters included Kim Cattrall, Candace Bushnell, Erica Jong, Dave Barry, Annie Parisse, Matthew Modine, Nick Hornby, Anthony Rapp, Stephen J. Cannell, Jules Feiffer, and Elmo, among others.

The Quills Corporate Literacy Award was presented to Patrick Gaston, President, Verizon Foundation, in recognition of Verizon’s support of literacy programs. Verizon Reads, the umbrella organization for Verizon’s national literacy platform, supports programs to create awareness, raise funds, and encourage collaboration among literacy providers. Specifically, the Verizon Literacy Network connects the leading literacy organizations to serve as a resource for all literacy inquiries and link providers to the general public via the Internet.

“Verizon’s mission has been to be the leader in America’s campaign to raise literacy levels by orchestrating a national platform that will increase community awareness and support a wide diversity of literacy programs,” said Gerry Byrne, chairman of the Quills Literacy Foundation. “Through its programs and its employees, Verizon has been a uniquely enthusiastic and committed leader that truly celebrates the written word and is making a difference. This is a well-deserved award.”

In accepting the award, Patrick Gaston, president of the Verizon Foundation, said, “This award is shared by the many Verizon employees who give of their talents, time and skills and by the many partners in the nonprofit community who are helping us turn the page on literacy. We’re honored to have received this outstanding award, but recognize that there is still much work to do about an issue we all care so much about – the advancement of literacy.”

The Verizon Foundation invested over $18 million in literacy programs in 2004.

The Quill Awards television special will be carried on the 14 NBC Universal television stations on Saturday, October 22, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m Eastern time.