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

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

Borders will Host Special In-Store Performances with GRAMMY in the Schools High School Musicians in Seven Cities across the Country

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).

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGO )

Purchases will be tracked by use of a coupon 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 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 www.bordersrewards.com where full program information -- including frequently asked questions -- is posted. For store locations, please visit www.bordersstores.com.

About Borders, Inc.

Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:BGP). 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 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 www.grammyintheschools.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: abinkley@bordersgroupinc.com
Web sites:

http://www.bordersgroupinc.com

http://www.grammyintheschools.com

http://www.bordersstores.com

http://www.bordersrewards.com

http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/coupon_100419.htm

Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGO
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Borders, Inc.

CONTACT: Ann Binkley of Borders, Inc., +1-734-477-1739,
abinkley@bordersgroupinc.com, or Christina Cassidy of GRAMMY Foundation,
+1-310-392-3777, christina.cassidy@grammy.com

Company News On-Call:

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/106169.html

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