February 3, 2011/PR-USA-The Race to Win tour will kick off from Austin, Texas on May 2, 2011 from Driveway Austin and conclude at the Plateau Headquarters in Arlington, VA on May 18. Other stops include San Diego, California, Phoenix, Arizona, Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia.

The Race to Win, the cross-country race to raise awareness and money for helping kids stay in school and achieve in life, has added talent management solutions provider Plateau Systems  as a Gold Sponsor. Plateau's chairman and CEO, Paul Sparta, also joins the Race to Win Patrons Circle as part of a select group of business and community leaders from diverse backgrounds who have demonstrated a philanthropic commitment to improving our education system.

The cross-country motor sport event was launched by the Saxena Foundation  to raise money and awareness in support of the Communities In Schools (www.communitiesinschools.org) dropout prevention program. With a fundraising goal of $100,000, The Race to Win will take place in communities and race courses across the country during the summer of 2011. More information is available at www.theracetowin.org.

"We're proud to have Plateau associated with The Race to Win," said Paul Sparta, chairman and CEO of Plateau. "At Plateau, we're working with world-class organizations to help them optimize their employee talent and we recognize the critical role that youth education plays in developing the next generation of our workforce. Partnering with The Race to Win not only gives us a chance to support the incredibly worthy and important cause of childhood education and drop-out prevention, it does it in a fun and engaging way for everyone involved -- especially the kids."

With more states facing a severe budget crunch, schools are at a critical juncture and the need is greater to support nationwide initiatives like the dropout prevention program from organizations like Communities In Schools. Many children face challenges both inside and outside the classroom. Through a school-based coordinator, Communities In Schools strategically aligns and delivers needed resources so that students can focus on learning.

"Too many American students are dropping out of schools and not acquiring the skills they need to succeed in this 21st century economy. We are delighted to have Plateau as our sponsor for The Race to Win and thankful for their support of Communities In Schools and their work around reducing our dropout rates and graduating college and career-ready students," Manoj Saxena, the founder of the event.

"We're grateful to Plateau Systems and to The Race to Win for joining our community of caring adults helping young people stay in school and achieve in life. Thanks to your efforts, more young people will graduate from high school and become the employees, innovators and leaders of tomorrow," said Bill Milliken, Founder and Vice Chairman of Communities In Schools.

Read the full article and learn more about The Race to Win here.