TOPEKA- As part of the iRead program at Washburn University, Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time” will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in White Concert Hall, Garvey Fine Arts Center, Washburn campus. The public is welcome to attend and advance tickets are required. Tickets are free and may be picked up in advance at the Center for Undergraduate Studies and Programs office located in room 122, Morgan Hall or the Student Activities and Greek Life office located on the lower level of Memorial Union. Tickets also may be reserved by phone (785-670-2299) and picked up at the will call table in the lobby of White Concert Hall the evening of the event. Mortenson is scheduled to speak for 45 minutes, including a brief question and answer session, followed by a book signing in the lobby. Donations to the Pennies for Peace program also will be accepted. Pennies for Peace is a program Mortenson started when he first began his project of building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The program emphasizes the impact of how one penny can impact the education of these students. For example: one penny = 1 pencil. Washburn Student Government Association’s goal is to raise $12,000, which is how much money it takes to build one school. Pennies for Peace jars have been placed in 24 locations around the Washburn campus (listed below). If your business or classroom would like to contribute to the Pennies for Peace program, contact Erica Koepsel at (785) 670-2320 or e-mail [email protected], for more information. For more information, about Pennies for Peace visit www.penniesforpeace.org. In “Three Cups of Tea,” Mortenson and David Oliver Relin recount the unlikely journey that led Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully building schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to fight terrorism with books, no bombs, and successfully bring education and home to remote villages in central Asia. Three Cups of Tea is the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world – one school at a time. The iRead program started in fall 2007. For more information about the iRead program, visit http://iread.washburn.googlepages.com Pennies for Peace drop off locations on the Washburn campus: Curriculum Resources Center, Carnegie Hall; rooms 203 and 303, Benton Hall; rooms 133 and 211, Garvey Fine Arts Center; rooms 101, 114, 221 and 311, Henderson Learning Resources Center; KTWU; Mabee Library; Bookstore, Corner Store, Student Activities and Greek Life office and Washburn Student Government Association office, Memorial Union; rooms 104, 110, 115, 123, 202 and 267, Morgan Hall; rooms 201 and 205, Petro Allied Health Center; and room 302, School of Law. Donations to Pennies for Peace also may be made the night of the Mortenson event on Nov. 20. Washburn’s Mabee Library, Center for Undergraduate Studies and Program, Leadership Institute, College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Community Service and Civic Engagement, School of Applied Studies, School of Business, School of Nursing, Washburn Student Government Association, Washburn University Bookstore, Georgia Neese Gray Committee and the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library are sponsoring iRead. For information, call (785) 670-1871.