please help us get this story out, and don’t hesitate to contact me for any additional info you may needthanksFor Immediate ReleaseContact:Jacob Rakovan337.769.1466////[email protected]/Lafayette, LAAuthors Help to Rebuild Hurricane-ravaged SchoolsIn the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, schools systems suffered billions of dollars of damages. The American Public School Endowments (APSE), a Louisiana-based nonprofit, has preliminary estimates of 1 billion dollars in damage in Orleans Parish alone.Following Katrina, APSE began an initiative to raise funds to aid in the rebuilding of these schools. This initiative has gained the support of many authors.Award winning children’s author Phillip Pullman, author of the /His Dark Materials/ series, wrote in to say, “I’m very glad to hear about the efforts your organisation is making in rebuilding schools in the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the floods. Schools are beacons of hope and expressions of confidence in the ability of human beings to overcome disaster. I salute all those who create and work in them.”Science fiction author and co-editor of the popular blog boingboing.net Cory Doctorow has said, “In the face of decades of official state negligence of the educational system and in the face of a disaster that has destroyed schools already neglected, it is wonderful to see a nonprofit explicitly targetting school-rebuilding projects. With enough support, the underfunded and now swept-away schools caught in Katrina can be rebuilt better than ever, rebuilt as genuine houses of learning. A commitment to education is the mark of a civilized land “Children’s author R.L. Stine, NPR’s Cokie Roberts and Ellen Kushner, Chocolat author Joanne Harris, Historian Walter Isaacson and Hugo, Locus and Nebula winning author Larry Niven have joined many others in supporting APSE’s efforts.Donations are accepted at www.apse.us , and a complete listing of authors and their statements is available at http://www.booksxyz.com/donations.php APSE is listed on guidestar under its founding organization, the Acadiana Educational Endowment. AEE and APSE have been providing support to schools in Louisiana since 1989. The initiative is also listed with other Katrina-related projects at www.networkforgood.com . APSE also operates the online bookseller www.booksxyz.com , all of whose profits support education throughout the United States.