Sallie Mae Employees Receive Award for Largest National Team at Lance Armstrong Foundation Fundraising Events

RESTON, Va., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sallie Mae employees were recognized by the Lance Armstrong Foundation with the National Team Messenger Award for fielding the largest team at the LiveStrong Challenge, a cycling and running/walking fundraising series of events held around the country.

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This year, a total of 276 Sallie Mae employees, family members, and friends participated in LiveStrong Challenges held in Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Austin. Through these events, the Sallie Mae team raised approximately $144,000 to support cancer research and programs for cancer survivors, including $30,000 in matching gifts from The Sallie Mae Fund.

At a ceremony in Austin, the team was presented with a framed, autographed poster of Lance Armstrong and LiveStrong Challenge participants, which will hang in Sallie Mae's headquarters building.

"In addition to our long-standing commitment to education, Sallie Mae employees are also proud to contribute to other causes that benefit the community," said Tom Joyce, senior vice president of Sallie Mae. "Sallie Mae and The Sallie Mae Fund have a long tradition of giving back through efforts like the LiveStrong Challenge."

"Our involvement with so many charitable causes is one of the things that makes Sallie Mae a special place to work," said Katie Schofield, a Reston, Va., employee and 25-year cancer survivor who served as Sallie Mae's national team captain.

Sallie Mae employees have supported the Lance Armstrong Foundation since 2001. The LiveStrong Challenge is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's annual series of events in cities across the country, enabling anyone to support its mission to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.

SLM Corporation , commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The company manages $160 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages $19 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and 8 million members have joined Upromise to help save for college with rewards on purchases at nearly 70,000 places. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at http://www.salliemae.com/. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.