The
initiative is part of the network's three-year pro-social
"Let's Just Play" campaign, which encourages
healthy and active lifestyles for kids and families.
Joining in Nickelodeon's commitment to promoting healthy
lifestyles for kids is Kellogg, which has signed on
as the first of 10 monthly partners for the "Let's
Just Play" Giveaway campaign.
For
10 months, Nickelodeon will award a minimum of 20
winners per month with $5,000 each to help facilitate
play in their community. The "Let's Just Play"
Giveaway will be promoted on-air beginning on 6 August
2005 with "call for entries" spots, driving
kids to download entry forms on www.nick.com. To enter,
kids, partnering with teachers and other community-based
leaders, must tell Nickelodeon what they need for
their school or club to help them play better and
why, and give three reasons why play is important.
Once
the entry form has been completed and mailed to Nickelodeon,
the winners will be randomly selected and announced
via Nickelodeon Online at the top of each month, beginning
in September.
Nickelodeon
Public Affairs executive VP Marva Smalls says, "In
our first year of the Giveaway, it was undeniably
clear that communities are challenged for resources
that can connect kids with active, healthy play. The
'Let's Just Play' Giveaway is designed to empower
kids to be catalysts for play in their communities
by directly connecting them to a funding mechanism."
As a partner of the "Let's Just Play" Giveaway,
Kellogg will match a Nickelodeon grant of $100,000
for September, enabling the network to award funding
to 40 winners that month. Kellogg's branding will
be tagged in the on-air "call for entries"
spots and highlighted on the "Let's Just Play"
micro-site on Nick.com throughout the month of August.
The
partnership is part of the network's efforts to bring
corporate partners on-board for the "Let's Just
Play" Giveaway in order to increase the total
funds distributed to $2 million.
To
commemorate the "Let's Just Play" Giveaway
winners and as part of the overall campaign, on 1
October, Nickelodeon will celebrate the second annual
Worldwide Day of Play and "go dark" for
three hours. The network will pre-empt regularly scheduled
programming with full-screen images including messages
encouraging kids to be active and to engage in physical
play and the Worldwide Day of Play logo. As part of
the "Let's Just Play" Giveaway, kids are
encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Day of
Play. Nick sates that the first-ever Worldwide Day
of Play, held as part of the 2004 "Let's Just
Play" programme, resulted in 1800 grassroots
events and participation from more than 250,000 kids
and families.
During
last year's "Let's Just Play" Grants Program,
which was designed to help foster healthy and active
lifestyles within local communities, Nickelodeon awarded
a total of $600,000 dollars in grants to more than
80 schools and other organisations across the US.
More than 1,800 grant applications were received from
every state in the country for the 2004-2005 "Let's
Just Play" Grants Programme, expressing more
than $9 million in need. Ranging from $2,500 to $10,000
each, the grants were given to applicants who demonstrated
a comprehensive plan for encouraging play in their
area. The funds are being used for a range of different
things like implementing PE programming or providing
necessities like athletic equipment.