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Fellowes, Inc. Names One of the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces in America

Itasca, Ill. – (May 1, 2008) The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding permanent, loving families for children in the North American foster care system, listed Fellowes, Inc. among the top 100 of the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces in America.

“More than 50 organizations nationwide established or enhanced their adoption benefits for 2008, and employers who made the list offered more robust adoption benefits packages this year” said Rita Soronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Fellowes Policy
Fellowes, Inc. is pleased to provide a combination of financial assistance, paid leave, and unpaid leave to its eligible employees. Financial assistance covers related expenses such as agency and placement fees, legal fees, medical expenses for the birthmother or child, immigration fees, and travel expenses. “As a family-owned company, Fellowes has a long history of caring about employees and their families. Introducing an adoption policy is part of our overall efforts to recognize the value employees and their families bring to the organization and to introduce flexible options to support individual needs” said Lyn Bulman, EVP Global Human Resources for Fellowes.

This family-friendly benefit is also closely aligned with Fellowes core values, which include integrity, teamwork, passion, and initiative. The company continually leverages competitive employment programming to attract, retain, and engage its workforce. Although individuals choose to join and remain with Fellowes for different reasons, this type of employee program helps drive loyalty and commitment to the organization.

Survey Methodology
The Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces in America list was compiled using data collected from 919 U.S. employers. Survey rankings are based first on the maximum amount of financial reimbursement per adoption, which includes any additional support for special-needs adoption, and second on the maximum number of weeks of paid leave per adoption. Employers who offer both are ranked higher than those providing only monetary support.


In addition to ranking the top 100, the foundation also ranked the top 10 companies by size, the leaders of each industry, and companies who support the cause of adoption in other ways. To view the lists, please visit www.AdoptionFriendlyWorkplace.org.

About Fellowes
Headquartered in Itasca, Ill., Fellowes, Inc. offers an impressive range of products to equip the workspace, including paper shredders, binders and laminators, desktop accessories and record storage solutions. Fellowes, Inc. owns and operates subsidiaries in Canada, United Kingdom, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China and Australia. The company employs more than 2,700 people throughout the world and expects global sales in excess of $700 million this year.