Scholastic Wants Kids to Think Big about Their Communities
Publisher Scholastic Media is marking National Volunteer Week this month by launching a new contest linked to its ongoing Clifford the Big Red Dog “Be Big!” promotion.
The “Be Big in Your Community” contest encourages kids, teachers, parents, organizations and community activists to submit a big idea related to civic engagement or community welfare to a page on the Scholastic Web site between now and June 26.
Shortly after that judges chosen by Scholastic and HandsOn Network, a business unit of the Points of Light Institute, will select one grand-prize winner and 10 runners-up from among the “Big” ideas entered into the competition.
The grand prize-winning idea will receive a $25,000 community grant to aid in its implementation; runners-up will get a $2,500 community grant apiece to put them into action. Ideas will be evaluated for their feasibility, creativity, sustainability and local or community impact.
Grants will come from the Be Big Fund, established by Scholastic and intended to encourage “Clifford’s Big ideas,” using the main character from the “Clifford the Big Red Dog” children’s book series originated by Norman Bridwell in 1963 and now the basis for an n animated series on PBS Kids channel.
On April 21 and April 22, Clifford mascots will appear in live events in schools in New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta and Chicago.
In February 2009, Scholastic linked the Clifford character to a ‘Be Big!” values-education campaign for parents and teachers to use in discussions with kids. The program centers on Clifford’s Big Ideas (share, play fair, have respect, work together and six other values) and shows how kids can put those ideas into action in their lives. The animated series on PBS Kids also makes use of the Clifford’s Big Ideas curriculum in its scenarios.
For that launch, Scholastic teamed with specialty retailer FAO Schwartz, which carried a tagged ‘Be Big” Clifford doll in both its flagship stores and its boutiques within Macy’s stores nationwide.
This year during National Volunteer Week, April 19-25, PBS Kids will concentrate on airing episodes that teach about Clifford’s 10 Big Ideas.
