New York, NY - May 8, 2008 - Text 100, a global public relations agency, today announced that it will offer a pilot, employee volunteer program with TechnoServe, a global NGO, which benefits thousands of entrepreneurial men and women in developing countries each year.

Text 100 was hired as TechnoServe’s agency of record in February 2008 and provides pro bono PR consultancy to the value of $300k annually. The Text 100 employee volunteer program is a natural extension of the company’s efforts to provide employees with unique opportunities for professional and personal growth. Employees will be chosen from Text 100’s 31 offices worldwide as long as they have worked at the agency for at least three years and performed at a consistently high level.

Participants selected for the inaugural pilot program will spend eight weeks with TechnoServe on development projects in South America and Africa, respectively. During this period, volunteers will have the opportunity to help raise awareness and understanding of TechnoServe’s brand, acting as business advisors while sharing skills and expertise with the local project teams. Initiatives will focus on assisting individuals in emerging countries with building and growing businesses, and in turn creating opportunities to generate income for their households and support the local economy.

“Volunteers are an integral part of TechnoServe’s work," said Bruce McNamer, CEO, TechnoServe. “Through this program, Text 100 consultants will provide their expertise in brand building and communications to the entrepreneurial men and women that are establishing businesses in the developing world. At the same time, the volunteers will be exposed to a new culture, and the challenges and aspirations of the world’s poor.”

“Text 100 takes pride in identifying and implementing development programs that ensure our employees are constantly learning, growing and being challenged along their career paths,” said Aedhmar Hynes, CEO, Text 100 Global Public Relations. “We believe this hands-on opportunity will greatly benefit TechnoServe’s mission, and foster even more rounded and effective professionals within the agency.”

As well as its established sabbatical program which awards paid ‘time out’ of up to three months for long serving high performers, Text 100 offers a variety of employee benefits focused on developmental progress and well-being. The company also provides in-house classroom style learning via its “PRotocol University,” where employees have online access to a curriculum of tools and resources to help them focus on their individual development needs. Key global cross-training initiatives include secondments, a short stay in another Text 100 office with the goal of supporting clients’ business needs and fostering a true sense of team across offices working on key clients.

As a global business, Text 100 places priority on enabling its staff to learn skills to collaborate effectively across geographies and cultures. It believes that by supporting employees to work for a period in a developing economy, staff will learn vital business and life skills that ultimately benefit Text 100’s business and clients.

About Text 100
Text 100 is a global PR agency serving companies that use technology for competitive advantage. Built organically from the ground up, Text 100 uniquely offers the dedication of local agencies and the power and reach of a global agency, Text 100 represents leading brands in 31 offices around the world. Clients of the company include Fujifilm, IBM, Philips, Cisco and Xerox. Named New Media Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and winner of PRWeek's PR Innovation of the Year, Text 100 is at the cutting edge of emerging media technologies and public relations techniques. In August 2006, Text 100 became the first public relations consultancy to establish a presence inside Second Life. For more information about Text 100, please visit www.text100.com.

About TechnoServe
TechnoServe helps entrepreneurial men and women in the developing world to build businesses that provide jobs, income and economic opportunity. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand more than 2,000 businesses, benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. TechnoServe has been recognized as one of the world's "Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs" by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2007, Charity Navigator also once again awarded its highest Four Star ranking to TechnoServe.

About Text 100 and TechnoServe Partnership
Text 100 and the NGO TechnoServe first announced their corporate social responsibility partnership in February 2008. As both organizations are global and also place great emphasis on encouraging and supporting entrepreneurialism, it was clear that there was a lot of common ground. A strategic partnership where the organizations learn from one another - whilst doing good – is predicted to be fruitful for all involved. A number of joint activities are already underway. For example, Text 100 donates PR consultancy and support to TechnoServe to the value of $300k annually, the first two Text 100 consultants will join the TechnoServe volunteer program towards the end of 2008 and Text 100 CEO Aedhmar Hynes visited Peru with the TechnoServe Board in early 2008.

Contact: Radley Moss
Text 100 Public Relations
212.331.8429
radleym@text100.com

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