Press Releases

FACT SHEET

QWEST FOUNDATION SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONS SERVING
SEATTLE’S ASIAN COMMUNITY

GRANT DETAILS

• $6,250 in grants from the Qwest Foundation, Qwest Communications’ philanthropic program, benefits the Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC), and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS). Both organizations serve King County.
• The $5,000 grant given to the CISC to support the Sustaining Job Skills Through Technology program will provide language, computer and employment assistance to new immigrants from China and other Asian countries.
• A $1,250 grant will bolster education and workforce development programming at ACRS, which provides social and health services to the Asian and Pacific Islander community. The grant is made possible by Qwest’s Pacific Asian American Network (PAAN), a group of employees representing or interested in a variety of Asian and Pacific cultures.

ABOUT CISC’s SUSTAINING JOB SKILLS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

• Launched in the summer of 2004, the Sustaining Job Skills Through Technology Program will help 180 low-income immigrants adapt to American working culture and become economically self-sufficient.
• Sustaining Job Skills Through Technology is the first CISC program to integrate the organization’s existing computer and employment training services.
• Each program participant will receive at least 45 hours of pre-employment and computer training as well as assistance finding and retaining a job.
• CISC screens program applicants to ensure their English and computer skills are a good match for the program.
• Skills emphasized in the Sustaining Job Skills Through Education program include:
  • Filling out applications
  • Writing résumés
  • Cold-calling prospective employers
  • Using the Internet and e-mail on the job hunt
  • Adapting to American working culture
  • Working with computer programs common in the workplace
• Current Sustaining Job Skills participants are between 30 and 60 years old, with most in their 40s and 50s.
• For more information about the CISC and the Sustaining Job Skills Through Education Program, please call CISC at 206-624-5633 x 108 or e-mail stephenl@cisc-seattle.org.

ABOUT ACRS’s PROGRAMS

• ACRS’s 11 culturally competent health and human services reach more than 17,600 of King County’s most vulnerable immigrant, refugee and native-born Asian Pacific Americans.
• ACRS Vocational and Employment Services include vocational English as a second language courses, job training and retention services, and support designed to help workers earn and keep living-wage employment.
• ACRS also works with 140 employers in King County to help them create long-term employee success.
• In 2003, ACRS’s Vocational and Employment Services alone helped 1,918 clients, a 79 percent increase since 2002.
• ACRS’s 150 staff members and 350 volunteers speak 30 languages and dialects.
• For more information about the ACRS, please call 206-695-7600 or visit www.acrs.org.

ABOUT THE CHINESE INFORMATION AND SERVICE CENTER (CISC)

Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC) bridges cultures, communities and generations, creating opportunities for Chinese immigrants and their families to succeed.

Founded in 1972 by a small group of community volunteers, CISC has expanded to serve more than 4,000 King County residents each year. CISC helps Chinese and other Asian immigrants achieve success in their new community by providing information, referral, advocacy, social, and support services.

Cultural orientation, job training, senior day care, English language instruction, domestic violence, crime victim services, parenting, and youth development activities are just some of the services offered. For more information, please visit www.cisc-seattle.org.

ABOUT THE ASIAN COUNSELING AND REFERRAL SERVICE

ACRS, a non-profit organization, promotes social justice and the well-being and empowerment of Asian Pacific American individuals, families and communities – including immigrants, refugees and native born – by developing, providing and advocating for innovative, community-based multilingual and multicultural services. Community members in need have access to the following services and programs: Vocational, Food Bank & Nutrition, Behavioral Health, Naturalization, Substance Abuse Treatment, Aging and Adult, Children, Youth & Family, Consultation & Education, Domestic Violence Batterers Intervention and, in partnership with the King County and Asian Bar Association, the International District Legal Clinic. For more information, please visit www.acrs.org.

About The Qwest Foundation
The Qwest Foundation's core principle is that investing in people and communities provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on K-12 education and economic development.

The Qwest Foundation's philosophy is to help build strong communities through investing in people and the places where they live and work. For more information, contact www.qwest.com/foundation.

About Qwest
Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) is a leading provider of voice, video and data services to more than 25 million customers. The company’s 46,000 employees are committed to the “Spirit of Service” and providing world-class services that exceed customers’ expectations for quality, value and reliability. For more information, please visit the Qwest Web site at www.qwest.com.

Forward Looking Statement Note

This release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent reports which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: access line losses due to increased competition, including from technology substitution of our access lines with wireless and cable alternatives; our substantial indebtedness, and our inability to complete any efforts to de-lever our balance sheet through asset sales or other transactions; any adverse outcome of the SEC's current investigation into our accounting policies, practices and procedures and certain transactions; any adverse outcome of the current investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office in Denver into certain matters relating to us; adverse results of increased review and scrutiny by Congress, regulatory authorities, media and others (including any internal analyses) of financial reporting issues and practices or otherwise; rapid and significant changes in technology and markets; any adverse developments in commercial disputes or legal proceedings, including any adverse outcome of current or future legal proceedings related to matters that are the subject of governmental investigations, and, to the extent not covered by insurance, if any, our inability to satisfy any resulting obligations from funds available to us, if any; potential fluctuations in quarterly results; volatility of our stock price; intense competition in the markets in which we compete including the likelihood of certain of our competitors emerging from bankruptcy court protection or otherwise reorganizing their capital structure and competing effectively against us; changes in demand for our products and services; acceleration of the deployment of advanced new services, such as broadband data, wireless and video services, which could require substantial expenditure of financial and other resources in excess of contemplated levels; higher than anticipated employee levels, capital expenditures and operating expenses; adverse changes in the regulatory or legislative environment affecting our business; and changes in the outcome of future events from the assumed outcome included in our significant accounting policies.

The information contained in this release is a statement of Qwest's present intention, belief or expectation and is based upon, among other things, the existing regulatory environment, industry conditions, market conditions and prices, the economy in general and Qwest's assumptions. Qwest may change its intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in Qwest's assumptions or otherwise. The cautionary statements contained or referred to in this release should be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that Qwest or persons acting on its behalf may issue. This release may include analysts' estimates and other information prepared by third parties for which Qwest assumes no responsibility.

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