STAMFORD, Conn., Oct 12, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) announced today that its "Pushing the Envelope" campaign has resulted in over 20,000 visits to its auction website and the donation of $20,000 to help support four national literacy charities: First Book, the National Center for Family Literacy, ProLiteracy Worldwide and Reading Is Fundamental.

To help communicate the importance of literacy and education during National Literacy Month this past September, Pitney Bowes enlisted a variety of influential personalities including actors, athletes, authors, musicians and politicians to create one-of-a-kind envelopes that were auctioned off on eBay from September 22-30. Each artist selected one of the four charities to donate all proceeds from their envelope.

The envelopes that received the highest bids on eBay belonged to Oscar nominee Sharon Stone, boxing great Muhammad Ali, Baseball Hall of Famer, Hank Aaron, teen actress Lindsay Lohan, and Oscar winner Halle Berry. A total of 31 celebrities participated in the program including: Senator Joseph Lieberman, fashion designer Nicole Miller, Today Show hosts Matt Lauer, Al Roker, and Anne Curry, poet Dr. Maya Angelou, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin, musicians Jon Bon Jovi and Debbie Harry, New York Giant quarterback Eli Manning, New Jersey Nets' Jason Kidd and New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, among others.

Actress and writer Molly Shannon, best known for her many characters on the NBC hit comedy, Saturday Night Live, kicked off the program on September 22nd by participating in a "Children's Reading Hour" at PS 183, an elementary school in New York City.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of our "Pushing the Envelope" campaign and proud to be able to support the fine work of the four literacy organizations who participated in this program," said Bruce P. Nolop, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Pitney Bowes. "We are optimistic that 'Pushing the Envelope' helped further elevate awareness of the challenge of illiteracy as well as the importance of education and communication skills to personal and professional success."

Pitney Bowes Inc. is the world's leading provider of integrated mail and document management systems, services and solutions. The $4.6 billion company helps organizations of all sizes reduce costs, increase effectiveness 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 about Pitney Bowes can be found at http://www.pb.com

     Contact: Marianne Fulgenzi
              Director, External Affairs
              203-351-6974
              marianne.fulgenzi@pb.com

SOURCE Pitney Bowes Inc.

Marianne Fulgenzi, Director, External Affairs of Pitney Bowes
Inc., +1-203-351-6974, or marianne.fulgenzi@pb.com

http://www.pb.com