iChapters.com Helps Environmental Activism Take Root

Online College Textbook Store Pledges to “Plant a Tree” for Each eChapter or eBook Purchased
Through Partnerships with ChangingthePresent.org and PasoPacífico.org

Belmont, Calif., January 16, 2008 – At a time when environmental issues are a growing concern and people are looking for simple yet proactive ways to make a difference, iChapters.com, a convenient online store where students can purchase print and digital textbooks, today announced a month-long green campaign aimed at emphasizing conservation, supporting reforestation efforts, and reducing the company’s environmental impact by planting trees for every eChapter or eBook purchased through their website, www.iChapters.com.

This groundbreaking program is made possible through partnerships with ChangingthePresent.org, a non-profit Website enabling the donations and reporting for implementation of the program, and PasoPacífico.org, a non-profit group charged with planting the trees.

“Today’s youth are aware of the global environmental crisis and want to act. This partnership provides an exciting way for students to participate in the solution,” stated Dr. Sarah Otterstrom, Founder and Executive Director of PasoPacífico.org. “Trees are central to healthy life on earth. A single tree can provide a home to a multitude of species, filter water and provide fuel, shelter, and comfort for local people. Simply put, trees benefit people.”

This program reduces the demand for paper and supports PasoPacífico.org’s reforestation efforts. iChapters.com expects to plant at least 7,000 saplings over the course of the campaign. In addition, students who participate will also save money on learning materials while benefiting from the choice, value and convenience the digital products from iChapters.com provides.

“Today’s students are a highly informed and savvy generation that has been actively aware of the environmental crisis for some time,” said Erin Wetzel, Vice President of eCommerce for iChapters.com. “Our goal is to join with these students and respond to their concerns about the environment.”

In order to best reach its audience, iChapters.com will be exchanging ideas with students through non-traditional, Web-oriented social media channels of communication, such as the popular Facebook.com site and other influencer-based sites and blogs, using widgets, applications and flash-based rich media. It also plans to reach out to various environmental organizations and high-profile clubs to generate positive interest in and support for the cause.

Recognizing students, teachers, and others who participate, iChapters.com will display a real-time feed of the number of trees planted for the drive by offering “I Planted a Tree” digital badges, available as soon as users confirm the purchase of an eChapter or eBook. Users can place this badge onto their social media pages, blogs, Websites or html message boards through an embed code and link available for download directly into their profiles.

“This engaging partnership will allow students to be part of the overall environmental solution while also gaining valuable education materials,” Otterstrom said. “By publishing digitally, iChapters.com minimies its potential impact on the environment and, by partnering with PasoPacífico.org, it takes the initiative one step further.”

Users can find details on the “Plant a Tree” campaign, make donations, obtain widgets and learn more about PasoPacífico.org, on ChangingthePresent.org, www.changingthepresent.org/drives/show/1002 as well as on the iChapters Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/pages/iChapters/7061939610

Robert Tolmach, President of WellGood LLC, the architects of ChangingThePresent.org, said, “We are pleased to provide the online tools that make it easy and rewarding for iChapters.com and students to collaborate in planting trees.”

iChapters.com was initially piloted in January 2006 and has seen great consumer engagement since. iChapters.com carries over 8,000 titles, with a combination of print, eBook and eChapter formats available. In addition, iChapters sells more than 10,000 print and digital study tools as well online homework solutions and quizzes such as CengageNOW and OWL. Students continue to embrace the choice and convenience that iChapters offers.
Electronic Press Kit available at www.guerillapr.com/ichapters/

About iChapters.com
iChapters.com (http://www.ichapters.com), is a division of Cengage Learning and the company’s flagship ecommerce destination for purchasing textbooks, eBooks, and eChapters at significant discount. Offering new print textbooks at up to 40% off list, eBooks priced 50% below list price and eChapters starting as low as $1.99 each, iChapters provides students the opportunity to save time and money without sacrificing quality content. In addition iChapters sells over 10,000 print and digital study tools helping meet the needs of all students.

About Paso Pacifico
Paso Pacifico, (http://www.pasopacifico.org), is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to protect Central America’s Pacific slope ecosystems. The non-profit implements projects in environmental education, sustainable agriculture, forest restoration and wildlife protection. Through these actions, Paso Pacifico is creating western Nicaragua’s first biological corridor.

About ChangingthePresent.org ChangingThePresent.org, (http://www.changingthepresent.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit website lets visitors choose exactly what they want to accomplish to make the world a better place. They can plant trees in Nicaragua, provide books for underprivileged kids, or fund an hour of cancer research. Thousands of inspiring donation opportunities from hundreds of leading nonprofits address a full range of causes. The Board of Advisors of this nonprofit includes Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams and the heads of more than 125 prominent nonprofit organizations, and internet leaders such as Esther Dyson.
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