Camp Fire USA - Press Room - Absolutely Incredible Kid Day


Camp Fire USA is Downtown Bound! participation in Camp FIre USA helps strengthen families, increase commitment to service and improve behavior, academic readiness and attitudes toward health familiar face on Capitol Hill joins Camp Fire USA to advocate on behalf of 750,000 caring, confident youth and future leaders Camp Fire USA youth members respond to community needs by serving others happy birthday, Camp Fire USA! celebrate Camp Fire USA's ninth annual Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ March 17, 2005 buy candy to support kids and communities

GRAB A PEN AND MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON KIDS!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2005

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Vanessa E. Adams
Communications Manager
Telephone: 816 756 1950, ext. 206
E-mail: vanessa.adams@campfireusa.org

GRAB A PEN AND MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON KIDS YOU KNOW
Celebrate Camp Fire USA's Ninth Annual Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ March 17, 2005

(Kansas City, Mo.) - Business adviser Stephen Covey believes it's an "extremely effective idea." Celebrities Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump have used it to make children feel like stars. And caring adults nationwide agree it works. What do these people have in common? They've discovered the value of Camp Fire USA's Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ.

On Thursday, March 17, Camp Fire USA once again asks the nation's adults to participate in Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ by writing letters of support and encouragement to special children in their lives or to any child who might need encouragement.

"The idea is simple. The time investment is minimal. The results are long-lasting," said Stewart J. Smith, national CEO, Camp Fire USA. "A letter can be so powerful and such a positive force in a child's life-and it's an extremely rewarding and emotional experience for the letter writer as well."

Research shows that simple words of encouragement and compassion can make a difference in a child's life. Putting those words into a letter allows the recipient to hang onto those encouraging words, and return to them for inspiration and guidance, often for years to come.

This is the cornerstone of Camp Fire USA's Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ: communicating to America's most precious resource-our youth-how valuable and absolutely incredible they are.

March 17, 2005, marks Camp Fire USA's ninth annual Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ. This national letter-writing campaign to honor children has been deemed an overwhelming success by child care experts, educators, celebrities, leaders, parents and kids everywhere.

Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ has touched more than 600 million people in the eight years since its inception. Its supporters include national figures such as celebrities, politicians George W. Bush and "Kit" Bond; family authority, Sylvia Rimm, Ph.D.; and sports heroes Jerry Rice and Jeff Gordon. Letters written by these celebrities and many more can be read on the Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ Web site.

Throughout the country, Camp Fire USA councils will celebrate Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ locally with a variety of unique events, including the Adopt-a-School project, fundraisers and delivery of bibs to newborns. To get involved with Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ in your community, contact your nearest Camp Fire USA council.

Nationally, the goal of Absolutely Incredible Kid DayŽ is for every child to receive a letter. It can be left on a pillow, mailed, stuck in a lunch box, e-mailed, read over the phone or read in person. Camp Fire USA wants parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, neighbors, educators, mentors and all adults to participate.

Help Camp Fire USA celebrate America's children by writing a letter to the kids in your life. It's a simple gesture whose impact can last a lifetime.

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Camp Fire USA is one of the nation's leading not-for-profit youth development organizations, serving nearly three quarters of a million participants annually. Camp Fire, with national headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, since 1977, provides all-inclusive, coeducational programs in hundreds of communities across the United States. Camp Fire USA's mission is to build caring, confident youth and future leaders. By design, Camp Fire's programs, including small group experiences, after school programs, camping and environmental education, child care and service learning, build confidence in younger children and provide hands-on, youth-driven leadership experiences for older youth. For more information, visit www.campfireusa.org.