STAMFORD, Conn., Jun 24, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) will celebrate literacy and its importance to the community at special children's event hosted by Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes, on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 at the company's world headquarters in Stamford. Over 100 children in grades K through 5 who are involved in local community centers will have an opportunity to hear stories read to them by Mr. Critelli, Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy, and other senior Pitney Bowes executives.

"We are very excited at the opportunity to focus our philanthropic efforts on literacy and education, because they are the building blocks of communication and are the foundation of community health, individual success, and economic development," stated Michael Critelli. "I know as a parent of three children, reading is one of the most enjoyable and important activities that I can do with them."

Represented at the event will be children from local community organizations including the Yerwood Center, the Stamford YMCA, the Stamford Urban League, the Lathon Wider Community Center, the Chester Addison Community Center, and the Haitian Community Center.

"This year, Pitney Bowes is launching a new integrated branding campaign focusing on our unique ability to help companies engineer the flow of their communications," noted PollyO'Brien, Director, Community Investments, Pitney Bowes. "Solid reading skills in children are essential for today's students to become better communicators as they mature into our future business leaders. We are therefore launching our new 'Powering Literacy' initiative, which will couple employee involvement with company resources to address the educational needs of our communities worldwide." Tuesday's event is Pitney Bowes' first effort to focus employees on this critical community issue.

Pitney Bowes is the world's leading provider of integrated mail and document management systems, services and solutions. The $4.4 billion company helps organizations of all sizes engineer the flow of communication to reduce costs and increase impact, and enhance customer relationships. The company's 80-plus years of technological leadership has produced many major innovations in the mailing industry and more than 3,500 active patents with applications in a variety of markets, including printing, shipping, encryption, and financial services. With approximately 33,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations. More information on the company is available at www.pb.com.

      Contact:
              Christopher Tessier
              Manager, Public Relations
              203-351-7210
              Christopher.Tessier@pb.com

SOURCE Pitney Bowes Inc.

Christopher Tessier, Manager, Public Relations of Pitney Bowes
Inc., +1-203-351-7210, Christopher.Tessier@pb.com

http://www.pitneybowes.com