First Borders Rewards(R) Bonus Event Gives Members 10% Off and Supports the GRAMMY Foundation(R)

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Members of the Borders Rewards customer loyalty program, now numbering more than 17 million, will soon be introduced to a new program benefit -- Borders Rewards Bonus Events -- designed to provide special savings opportunities exclusive to members throughout the year. The first ever Bonus Event was announced by Borders today. It offers Borders Rewards members 10% off items purchased from April 19 through April 22. In addition to the savings, Borders has added a special benefit element to this particular Bonus Event and will donate 5% of net proceeds from purchases made by Borders Rewards members during those days to the GRAMMY Foundation(R).

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Purchases will be tracked by use of a coupon http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/coupon_100419.htm that will be emailed to Borders Rewards members, which they may simply print and bring to the store to receive their special savings and support the GRAMMY Foundation at the same time.

"We're thrilled to offer the very first of many Borders Rewards Bonus Events to our members," said Borders Group Chief Marketing Officer Michael Tam. "We believe our Borders Rewards members will enjoy the surprise of receiving this special discount and will feel good about the opportunity to support the important work of the GRAMMY Foundation at the same time. It is this type of connection with our loyal customers and our communities that will help Borders achieve our mission to be a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment."

The GRAMMY Foundation supports music education in local schools across the country through its GRAMMY(R) Signature Schools and Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles programs. This year, 22 schools were selected as GRAMMY Signature Schools with over $63,000 in monetary awards granted to help fund music education in those schools. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with The Recording Academy(R) to bring national attention to important issues, such as the value and impact of music and arts education, and the urgency of preserving our nation's rich cultural heritage through music. For more information, please visit http://www.grammyfoundation.com/

"Borders has continued to maintain music as central to its core mission which makes them a uniquely appropriate partner for the GRAMMY Foundation," said Kristen Madsen, Sr. Vice President of the GRAMMY Foundation. "To expand that commitment to music education at a time when schools struggle for every arts Dollar demonstrates a clear vision of building future generations of musicians and music appreciators."

In celebration of this inaugural Borders Rewards Bonus Event to benefit the GRAMMY Foundation, Borders will host special in-store performances at the following locations.

Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. Central Classical music performance by select members of the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Signature Schools program Borders Westwood 1360 Westwood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 475-3444 BORDERS CONTACT: Lita Weissman District Marketing Manager, Events (310) 475-3444 x580 lweissma@bordersgroupinc.com Friday, April 20 at 12:30 p.m. Jazz performance by select members of the GRAMMY Foundation's Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles Program Borders Boston - Downtown Crossing 10-24 School Street Boston, MA 02108 (617) 557-7188 BORDERS CONTACT: Melissa Fulkerson District Marketing Manager (617) 557-4995 Mfulkers@bordersgroupinc.com Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. Classical music performance by select members of the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Signature Schools program Borders Downtown Ann Arbor 612 E Liberty Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 668-7652 BORDERS CONTACT: Nicole Pagenette District Marketing Manager (248) 219-0276 npagenet@bordersgroupinc.com Saturday, April 21 at 4 p.m. Pacific Jazz performance by select members of the GRAMMY Foundation's Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles Program Borders Union Square 400 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 399-1633 BORDERS CONTACT: Kathy Meengs District Marketing Manager (415) 250-4706 kmeengs@bordersgroupinc.com Saturday, April 21 at 5 p.m. Pacific Jazz performance by select members of the GRAMMY Foundation's Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles Program Borders Beaverton 2605 SW Cedar Hills Blvd Beaverton, OR 97005 (503) 644-6164 BORDERS CONTACT: Dan Eichler District Marketing Manager (503) 221-9814 deichler@bordersgroupinc.com Sunday, April 22 at 3 p.m. Central Classical music performance by select members of the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Signature Schools program Borders Chicago 830 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 573-0564 BORDERS CONTACT: Laurie Smith District Marketing Manager (312) 282-4868 lsmith11@bordersgroupinc.com

Joining Borders Rewards program is free and easy. To become a member, pick up a free Borders Rewards card at any Borders or Waldenbooks store nationwide and register online at http://www.bordersrewards.com/ where full program information -- including frequently asked questions -- is posted. For store locations, please visit http://www.bordersstores.com/.

About Borders, Inc.

Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc. . Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Group is a $4.1 billion global retailer of books, music and movies with more than 1,200 stores and 34,000 employees worldwide. More information on the company is available at http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/.

About the GRAMMY Foundation:

The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture -- from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with The Recording Academy(R) to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. For more information, please visit http://www.grammyintheschools.com/.