Team Kids Press Releases

Team Kids Launches Bi-Costal Fundraiser

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2010-01-28T17:31:13-08:00

MEDIA ALERT
January 28, 2010 Contact / Arlington, VA:
Christine Carbonel Schaubach
Dir. of National Initiatives, Team Kids
949-310-1213
cschaubach@teamkids.org

Contact / Irvine, CA:
Julie Hudash
CEO, Team Kids
949-633-5700
jhudash@teamkids.org

Team Kids Launches Bi-Costal Fundraiser: Hearts for Haiti
During Presidents Day weekend / Valentine’s Day, kids in California and Virginia will dance, sing and sell hot chocolate to raise funds to help Haitian earthquake victims.

February 13 – 15, children in Arlington, VA and Irvine, CA will join together as part of Team Kids to raise funds for Haiti. As is policy of the nine-year-old non-profit organization, 100% of all funds raised by children go to the selected charity, in this case, the American Red Cross.

“This first bi-coastal fundraiser will draw on the positive nature of patriotism and love,” said Team Kids founder & CEO Julie Hudash. “Young people feel strongly about devastating events, such as the terrible earthquake in Haiti. They need to feel more than sad. They need to feel empowered to do something about it. Personally taking part in raising funds is one important way that children feel empowered to take leadership and make a difference.”

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, more than 1,000 Team Kids volunteers in California sold approximately 18,000 cups of LemonAID to raise more than $2,000 for the American Red Cross’ work in Haiti and an additional $10,000 for Orange County Human Relations.

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org
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More than $100,000 Donated at Imagine Event

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2010-05-31T07:55:47-07:00

Press Release Contact:
Linda Ames
949-300-2545
linda.ames@cox.net

More than $100,000 Donated to
Team Kids at Imagine Event
“It’s all about the kids!”
Over
Irvine, CA – May 27, 2010 – Team Kids, an Irvine-based nonprofit, raised more than $100,000 to benefit children during its 5th Annual Imagine event at Il Fornaio in Irvine. As 450 attendees looked on, Dr. Gwen Gross, Irvine Unified School District superintendent, was presented with the Team Kids Spirit Award. Dr. Gross was honored for her exceptional dedication to empowering youth to make a positive difference in their school, their community and the world.

“It’s all about the kids,” said Julie Hudash, Team Kids founder and CEO. “When I started Team Kids, our goal was to help empower young children to be powerful, compassionate citizens. The Imagine fundraiser honors our nine years of innovative community and business partnerships, and invites us to imagine what is possible when we see the needs of others through the eyes of a child.”

“From a business standpoint, Team Kids is an incredible investment. All the funds raised by children – 100 percent – are given away. Every dollar I give to Team Kids helps a kid raise another five dollars to benefit several other nonprofits,” said Team Kids Board Member Mike Cupps.

“We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our supporters, who make it possible for Team Kids to help kids help others,” said Hudash.

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org
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Watershed Watch, 2010 Makes for a Great Earth Day

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2010-04-29T19:03:44-07:00

Press Release
Contact:
Julie Hudash
949-633-5700
jhudash@teamkids.org

‘Watershed Watch, 2010’ Makes for a Great OC Earth Day
Team Kids Youth Council steps up for clean water.

Irvine, CA – April 28, 2010 - “Our generation cares a lot about the environment, and our team loved helping out with Earth Day,” according to Team Kids Youth Council Mentor Jenny Heenan.

The Team Kids Youth Council and Inside the Outdoors joined forces with Disney’s Friends for Change and the OC Municipal Water District for Watershed Watch, 2010. The purpose of the collaboration was to raise water awareness and build connections between Orange County residents’ use of this precious resource and the understanding of where our water comes from and where it goes.

Inside the Outdoors staff and Team Kids Youth Council members conducted water awareness activities and service projects at four sites across Orange County: Crystal Cove State Park; Bolsa Chica Reserve; Orange County Great Park; and Upper Newport Bay. Activities included an interactive watershed model, “WSI: Watershed Scene Investigators” scavenger hunt, and hands-on water-quality testing.

“I think our Earth Day efforts really made a difference. We interacted with hundreds of people all over Orange County at four different sites,” said Inside the Outdoors’ Community Program Director Meghan Barron.

Kids especially loved playing with the watershed model. “I learned that there’s so many kinds of pollution in our neighborhood, from cars and pesticides and even dog poop!” said one nine-year-old boy. “The rain washes all that stuff into storm drains, down creeks and rivers, and right into our oceans!”

According to Ran Yui Goheen, the newest member of the Team Kids Youth Council, the opportunity to serve made for a great day. “We talked to lots of people about the watershed, cleared an entire field of mustard plants at Upper Newport Bay, and even got to put about 175 native plants into the ground!”

Team Kids’ mission is to strengthen innovative community collaborations that empower and inspire young people to become responsible, resilient citizens with a passion for service.

Inside the Outdoors is a self-supporting program administered by the Orange County Department of Education that provides outdoor environmental education experiences and Service-Learning projects to over 147,000 students, families, teachers, and community members each year.

Disney’s Friends for Change Project Green is an initiative that invites young people to join together to help the environment across four key areas: climate, water, waste and habitats.

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Team Kids Raises $9,000 for Charity with LemonAID

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2010-01-20T10:14:51-08:00

Team Kids Raises $9,000 for Charity with LemonAID
Kids from across Orange County honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day during
Disney’s Give a Day, Get a Disney Day!

Irvine, CA – January 19, 2009 – Nearly 1,000 volunteers from every city in Orange County joined together with Team Kids to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as part of Disney’s Give a Day, Get a Disney Day!

The result is that kid-sponsored LemonAID Stands sold 18,000 cups of lemonade and hot chocolate – even in the rain - to raise more than $9,000 for charity - $7,000 going to Orange County Human Relations and more than $2,000 designated for the American Red Cross’ work in Haiti.

Team Kids, the non-profit spearheading LemonAID, will pay it forward with 100% of proceeds being donated to fund the youth diversity school programs, implemented by the Orange County Human Relations Council.
After the earthquake disaster in Haiti, Team Kids added Change for Haiti to LemonAid. Those who purchased a glass of lemonade were encouraged to part with their change – to be sent to the American Red Cross to benefit Haiti.
“Through Team Kids, children are being empowered to help others, whether they are in Brea, San Clement or Port-au-Prince,” said Julie Hudash the CEO of Team Kids, “There is no better or more meaningful way to honor Dr. King’s legacy than by serving others.”
Late Monday afternoon, the Irvine Council Chamber filled with children, their parents and city dignitaries, including Mayor Sukhee Kang and Irvine Unified School Board member Gavin Huntley-Fenner, PhD.
“The Team Kids LemonAID Project is a great way to bring people together to make a difference and we hope it will be the beginning of an ongoing commitment to serve throughout the year,” suggested Hudash. “The needs in Orange County are particularly great right now, and service to others is a key part of the solution.”

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org

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Irvine kids try to break reading record

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2009-10-13T09:28:48-07:00

BY SEAN EMERY THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE School kids looking to smash the world record for reading the same book on the same day took part in the national Read for the Record campaign on Thursday, breaking out their copies of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
    Organized by Team Kids and Jumpstart, the Irvine Read for the Record events focused on kindergarten and first-grade students.
    The campaign also corresponded with a book drive, with students and parents asked to donate “gently used” books to benefit those who don’t have books to read at home.
    Among those taking part in the event were Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang and Police Chief David Maggard, who read to kids at Alderwood Elementary, and IUSD Superintendent Gwen Gross, who read to kids at Turtle Rock Elementary School and the Early Childhood Learning Center.

Irvine kids try to break reading record

Irvine Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Gwen Gross reads “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” to kindergarten students at Turtle Rock Elementary School in Irvine Oct. 8 as part of the district’s involvement in the national "Read For the Record" program.

Grant will help Irvine students work with charities

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2009-10-13T09:27:01-07:00

Grant will help Irvine students work with charities

BY SEAN EMERY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A new three-year, $86,000 state grant will bolster a joint Irvine Unified School District and Team Kids program that teaches students to work with local charities.
IUSD will team up with Team Kids to craft a “service-learning” program meant to mix community projects with classroom instruction focusing on academic and civic skills.

Team Kids is already well established at Irvine schools, helping to connect students with police officers, fire fighters and other role models, teaching them about real life issues such as hunger, homelessness and the environment, and raising money for charity. More than 20,000 kids have taken part in Team Kids since 2001, raising more than $200,000 for local charities.
This year, 22 Team Kids and IUSD teachers will take part in the new “service-learning” program, along with 2,800 students from five elementary schools. The program will begin at Vista Verde, Alderwood Basics, Deerfield, Springbrook and University Park.

The teachers and students will begin by coming up with a menu of possible community projects, which they will apply for “minigrants” to carry out. At the end of the first year, teachers will begin crafting a districtwide curriculum and future plan for the “service-learning” program.

The number of students and teachers taking part in the program is expected to double by its second year, and then triple by the third, IUSD Service Learning Facilitator Abby Edmunds said, as middle and high schools enter the mix.

If the program proves successful, the district would become eligible for another three-year “sustaining” grant from the California Department of Education.

New Horizon’s Team Kids Leadership Team...

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2009-06-16T08:38:04-07:00

Press Release

New Horizon’s Team Kids Leadership Team raised over $1,300 for Make A Wish Foundation!
Irvine, CA – June 12, 2009 – New Horizon students exceed all 4-week goals in the Team Kids Challenge!

Approximately 200 students at Irvine’s New Horizon Elementary celebrated their recent humanitarian successes at a kid-made school-wide carnival on Thursday, June 11. These generous students spent an entire month taking action upon issues of homelessness, literacy, hunger and the environment, exceeding all four goals presented by Team Kids Challenge Program. New Horizon students raised cash and donated goods with a total value of over $5,000 to benefit other children and families in need. Even more importantly, students learned more about the power they have to make a difference!

More than forty students in grades four through six volunteered weekly over their lunch recess to serve on the Team Kids Leadership Team. These students worked with Team Kids staff and partners from Irvine Police Department to plan all the carnival games and host the celebration for their younger students. Students learned about teamwork, discussed their favorite charities, and then voted to determine which charity would serve as the beneficiary of the profits. The Make a Wish Foundation received the most votes, and will receive 100% of the proceeds from the carnival, which totals over $1,300.

Dina Eletreby, Principal of New Horizons, had a challenge of her own. She promised her students that if they exceeded each of the 4 weekly goals, she would be the first participant in a dunk tank at the carnival. “It was a lot of fun watching the kids try to hit the target and a great way to celebrate and wrap up the month of service that Team Kids brought to our school.” The student-led booths included, a magic show, face painting, crazy hair, tug-a-war, and more.
“It was a privilege to implement the Team Kids Challenge alongside the students and staff at New Horizon,” says Founder/CEO Julie Hudash. “New Horizon has a student body about a third the size of our traditional schools, yet the outcomes of their drives and fundraisers were equally successful.”

Last month the students participated in an inspirational assembly, which brought together preschool through 6th grade students with role models — police, firefighters, and mentors from the community — to work as a team focused on four-week challenge goals to strengthen their community. Week one teamed New Horizon students up with Irvine’s Families Forward, filling 3 large barrels of food for the food bank. The second week focused on the importance of literacy, and students brought in 682 of their gently used books, for the Orange County’s Early Literacy Project. The third week focused on Orange County’s homelessness issue. Students filled 3 large vehicles with their gently used toys, clothes and household items to support the homeless and working poor through Irvine’s Illumination Foundation. Week four inspired over 200 students as environmental advocates as they filled 12 large trash bags with plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Proceeds were donated to the International Bird Rescue Research Center, which rescues sea birds injured due to ocean pollution.

Team Kids programs have demonstrated positive impacts on children’s feelings of self-efficacy, leadership capacity, their desire to help others, and perceptions of being important contributors to their schools and the community. What’s the secret to Team Kids’ success? It’s a close collaboration with the Irvine Unified School District, the City of Irvine, Irvine Police Department, Orange County Fire Authority, University of California, Irvine, and a host of other nonprofits and community partners. More than 20,000 children have participated in the Team Kids Challenge since 2001. Collectively, kids have raised over $200,000 for local charities during youth-led efforts.

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org
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Team Kids Fosters Passion for Community Service...

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2009-05-16T08:52:11-07:00

Press Release

Team Kids Fosters Passion for Community Service among Irvine Children
Community leaders team up with New Horizon students to mentor and inspire service through
4-week Team Kids Challenge!
Irvine, CA – May 15, 2009 – It’s never too early to start giving back to the community.
This idea is the driving force behind the work of Team Kids, an Irvine-grown non-profit organization that gives children and teenagers opportunities to partner with community leaders on projects that benefit local, national and international causes.
“Our goal is to inspire young people to become responsible citizens with a passion for community service,” says Founder/CEO Julie Hudash. “And while our programs give children a chance to do something for their community, they also teach values and skills that will help kids make good choices in their own lives.”
Team Kids’ signature program, the school-based Team Kids Challenge, was kicked off at Irvine’s New Horizon Elementary, a private, non-profit Islamic school on Friday. This inspirational assembly brought together preschool through 6th grade students with role models — police, firefighters, and mentors from the community — to work as a team focused on four-week challenge goals to strengthen their community. Week one will team New Horizon students up with Irvine’s Families Forward as they bring in the food “they like to eat” to fill two large barrels of food for the hungry. The second week’s goal will focus on the importance of literacy, as students bring in over 500 of their gently used books, serve as “Book Doctors” to clean and restore the books, and then donate them to Orange County’s Early Literacy Project. The book donations will then be donated through clinics and schools to children who don’t have books of their own. The third week focuses on Orange County’s homelessness issue. Students will work to fill an entire passenger van with their gently used toys and clothes to support the homeless and working poor through Santa Ana’s Southwest Community Center. Week four empowers all 200+ students as environmental advocates as they collect plastic bottles and aluminum cans, with proceeds going to the International Bird Rescue Research Center which rescues sea birds injured due to ocean pollution.
At the end of their four-week challenges, the 4-6 graders who volunteer to serve on the Team Kids Leadership Team host a youth-led, school-wide carnival to raise funds for a charity that they themselves -- the students -- have identified. 100% of what students raise goes to the charity of their choice.
More than 20,000 children have participated in the Team Kids Challenge since 2001. Collectively, kids have raised over $200,000 for local charities during youth-led efforts.
Team Kids programs have made positive impacts on children’s feelings of self-efficacy, leadership capacity, their desire to help others, and perceptions of being important contributors to their schools and the community. What’s the secret to Team Kids’ success? It’s a close collaboration with the Irvine Unified School District, the City of Irvine, Irvine Police Department, Orange County Fire Authority, University of California, Irvine, and a host of other community partners.
“This is prevention. If our officers are in the schools, building relationships with kids and honoring them for being leaders in our community, then it’s likely we won’t see these kids in trouble down the line,” said Irvine Police Chief Dave Maggard.
Orange County Fire Authority Captain Stephen McHale adds, “Adults become cynical about change. It’s so inspiring to work with children who truly believe that anything is possible.”

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org
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Press Release Contact: Linda Ames 949-300-2545 linda.ames@cox.net

Press Release Contact: Linda Ames 949-300-2545 linda.ames@cox.net

Team Kids Honors Community, Philanthropist & Kids

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2009-05-16T08:50:53-07:00

Team Kids Honors Community, Philanthropist & Kids Nearly 300 gather at 4th annual Team Kids Family Celebration

Irvine, CA – May 4, 2009 – “It’s all about the kids,” said Team Kids Founder and CEO Julie Hudash when she welcomed nearly 300 supporters of the Orange County organization to its 4th annual Team Kids Family Celebration.

Irvine police, school leaders, Team Council Presidential Service Award winners and a Newport Beach philanthropist were honored during the Sunday, May 3 event at Irvine’s Il Fornaio restaurant.

Irvine Deputy Police Chief, retired, David Mahalik, and Vista Verde Elementary and Middle School Principal Jean Mylen, PhD, received the 2009 Team Kids Spirit Award.

Chief Mihalik, who chairs the Team Kids board of directors, started one of Team Kids’ most treasured programs, Shop with a Cop. Uniformed officers take children who were living in a local domestic violence shelter on a holiday shopping trip, bringing joy and forging friendships between the children and the police officers who protect them. “It’s important we show kids real everyday heroes, not just the spots stars or celebrities of the day,” said Mihalik.

In 2001, Dr. Mylen hosted the first Team Kids Challenge event, back in 2001, during which children joined together to raise funds for a young boy to receive needed heart surgery. “I have been fortunate to be a part of Team Kids and have witnessed the hope and dreams on the faces of children who have been involved. We cannot always build the future for our children, but Team Kids can build our young people for the future,” she said.

Seven Team Kids Council members performed more than 150 hours of service and received the Presidential Service Award. The award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States. It recognizes the best in American spirit of those who improve their communities though volunteer service and civic participation. Award recipients were: Francesca Apollonio, Keiko Arzouman and Carly Dahl, University High School; Kelly Marshall, Corona del Mar High School; Sasha Glasser, Orange County High School of the Arts; and Caitlyn Kelly and Lang Peirce, Irvine High School.

The group thanked Kelly Smith of Newport Beach, for donating $200,000 to Team Kids. “I believe in the benefits of Team Kids for a number of reasons. Each time the Team Kids Challenge goes to a school, up to five charities receive the benefits. On top of that, the kids in the program see themselves as powerful community leaders,” said Smith.

“Every can of food and toy donated or penny raised by kids during our school-based Team Kids Challenge program goes to youth-serving charities,” said Hudash. “That’s why the organization itself depends on the generosity of amazing people like Kelly.”

Also thanked for their roles in bringing Team Kids Challenge to schools in Newport Beach were: Principal Charlene Metoyer, Harbor View Elementary School; Principal Mary Manos, Andersen Elementary School, and Captain Glenn White, Newport Beach Fire Department.

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org
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Orange County Philanthropist Challenges Others...

faux2grapher@teamkids.org — 2009-05-16T08:50:28-07:00

Orange County Philanthropist Challenges Others to Give
“This $200,000 donation to Team Kids is an investment that won’t disappear.”

Irvine, CA – April 22, 2009 – It may be tough to get a good deal in the stock market these days, but Newport Beach philanthropist Kelly Smith says, “The real investment value is in our children. That’s why I’ve continued to support Team Kids. It’s the highest impact, most innovative youth-focused organization I’ve found.”

Smith donated $200,000 to Team Kids, the Orange County nonprofit that brings partners from both law enforcement and firefighters into elementary schools to get kids involved as young community leaders at an early age.

“When my children came home from school and told me they were helping Team Kids collect food, clothing and books for kids who needed them, I offered to help,” said Smith. “They told me they didn’t need my help. They were doing it themselves. That’s how I learned about Team Kids, and its innovative programs continue to inspire me.”

During the past eight years, more than 21,000 students have participated in the Team Kids Challenge, helping others and sending the funds and resources they’ve raised to community organizations.

“Every can of food and toy donated or penny raised by kids during our school-based Team Kids Challenge program goes to youth-serving charities,” said Team Kids founder & CEO Julie Hudash. “That’s why the organization itself depends on the generosity of amazing people like Kelly. We’ve included more schools in Team Kids’ programs, even though we don’t have the resources to bring our programs to all the schools that have requested them.”

As Smith explained, “Giving to Team Kids amplifies the return I get on my investment. Each time the Team Kids Challenge goes to a school, up to five charities receive the benefits. On top of that, the kids in the program see themselves as powerful community leaders.

“Kelly’s gift is wonderful, and we continue to encourage other generous donations, both large and small, so we can expand the Team Kids Challenge throughout and beyond Orange County,” said Hudash.

“I’m challenging other donors to find their own path to help Team Kids, because I believe it is the best investment you can make right now,” said Smith. “Even in this economy, it’s important for those who can help not to hold back in our giving. We need to make our good intentions count,” Smith said, “and we need to preserve the optimism and certainty our children have that they can make a difference.”

Community members can learn more about Team Kids by attending its annual Imagine luncheon celebration on Sunday, May 3, at Il Fornaio Restaurant in Irvine. Go to www.teamkids.org for additional information.

About Team Kids
Team Kids strengthens innovative community collaborations that empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for service through its school-based and community-wide programs. While serving, students develop the values and skills that enable them to make positive choices in their own lives, while making a difference in the lives of others. For more information, visit the Team Kids Web site: www.teamkids.org