For children in hospitals, sometimes the best medicine and moments of joy can come with four paws, a wet nose, and a wagging tail. Today, the Joy in Childhood Foundation, the independent charitable foundation powered by Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, is launching its Dogs for Joy program to bring in-residence dogs to children’s hospitals nationwide. Dogs in this program are bred and trained as service dogs but “work” full-time in children’s hospitals. Through more than $2M in initial grants the program will dramatically increase the number of in-residence dog programs in pediatric healthcare settings around the country and the prevalence of animal-assisted therapy as part of treatment.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8444851-joy-in-childhood-foundation-unleashes-dogs-for-joy/
Trekking through the Himalaya (with a short stop at Mt. Everest’s base camp), sailing the Ganges River, crossing the North Pacific Ocean on a container ship, meditating with monks in a Tibetan monastery – these are not the typical activities you might expect during a family vacation with two young children. But the Kirkby family is on an extraordinary adventure halfway around the globe – and inviting everyone to come along. Travel Channel’s mesmerizing and cinematic new series, “Big Crazy Family Adventure,” premiering Sunday, June 21 with back-to-back episodes at 9:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, follows wilderness guide, writer and award-winning photographer Bruce Kirkby throughout this epic trip – from his home in Kimberley, British Columbia, to a remote monastery in the Himalaya – with his wife, Christine Pitkanen, and their two young boys: Bodi, 7 and Taj, 3. There’s just one catch: on their 13,000-mile adventure they won’t be taking ANY airplanes. To fully experience the life-changing and serendipitous moments that exploring the world provides, they’ll get to their final destination through surface travel only – canoe, container ship, ferry, high-speed train, river boat, tuk tuk, pony, their own eight feet and more. The series is comprised of nine, hour-long episodes.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/70380510-travel-channel-big-crazy-family-adventure/
Unlocking the Social Potential in Autism, by Dr. Karina Poirier, is an in-depth guide to understanding autism. It empowers parents to teach their children valuable skills essential for developing friendships and achieving academic success. www.socialcognitionpublications.com
Video production by Castelane.
Transaero Airlines launched the Flight of Hope project to provide its passengers with an opportunity to participate in the mission of saving children’s lives.
Olga Pleshakova, Transaero Airlines CEO, said: “I’m convinced that business should be socially responsible, in other words, that it should have a human face. And if charitable giving in Russia evolves in such a way that someday passengers will book tickets on purpose for Flights of Hope that will be the highest recognition for the entire project.”
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64163-transaero-airlines-flight-of-hope-project
Cast appearance:
Peddler - Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio)
Gazeem the Thief - Mr. Snoops (The Rescuers)
Jafar - McLeach (The Rescuers Down Under)
Iago - Tigger (Winnie the Pooh)
Cave of Wonders - Monster House
Aladdin - Kermit the Frog (The Muppets)
Razoul and his Henchmen - The Gangreen Gang (The Powerpuff Girls)
Woman at the Window - Mulan
Ladies Laughing at Aladdin - Flowers (Alice in Wonderland (1951)) including Madeline Kahn
Abu - Conker the Squirrel (Conker's Bad Fur Day)
Three Balcony Harem Girls - Muses (Hercules)
Three Balcony Harem GIrls' Mother - Pocahontas
Necklace Man and Woman - Philoctetes (Hercules) and Rapunzel (Tangled)
Fat Ugly Lady - Princess Morbucks (The Powerpuff Girls)
Two Hungry Children - Roo (Winnie the Pooh) and Lumpy (Pooh's Heffalump Movie)
Prince Achmed - Hercules
Two men watching Prince Achmed - Pain and Panic (Hercules)
Sultan - Pumbaa (The Lion King)
Rajah - Adult Tod (The Fox and the Hound)
Jasmine - Miss Piggy (The Muppets)
Omar; Melon Seller - Tantor (Tarzan)
Pot Seller - Woody (Toy Story)
Nut Seller - Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)
Necklace Seller - Hamm (Toy Story)
Fish Seller - Rex (Toy Story)
Fire Eater - Mr. Potato Head (Toy Story)
Boy wanting an apple - Andy (Toy Story)
Farouk; Apple Seller - Edgar (The Aristocats)
Old Jafar - Mr. Nebbercracker (Monster House)
16-year-old Chloe Montgomery has always loved fashion. And when she finds out Teen Design Diva, a new reality series for aspiring teenage designers, is holding auditions in her town, she’s desperate to win a spot on the show. She knows this is her chance. But before she can realize her dreams, she has to survive the competition. Chloe by Design: Making the Cut by Margaret Gurevich http://www.CapstonePub.com children/YA
What’s funnier than cat videos? Cat jokes! Find hundreds of infectiously funny feline jokes, facts, and photos in this adorable book for kids about cats of every stripe, breed, size, and species. Plus, meet 10 of the world’s most famous felines. Available wherever books are sold. Just Joking Cats from National Geographic. Children/humor
Only 3 vehicles of more than 100 evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have child restraint installation hardware that earns a good rating for ease of use, while more than half have hardware that is poor or marginal.
The Institute's new LATCH ratings will serve as a resource for families looking for a vehicle that makes it easy to transport their children safely. They also are intended to encourage vehicle manufacturers to pay attention to this equipment and make improvements. Properly installed, age-appropriate child restraints provide considerably more protection for children in crashes than safety belts alone. However, observational studies have found that parents and caregivers often fail to secure them tightly or make other installation mistakes.
LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, is intended to make it easier to install a child seat properly. It works: Child restraints installed with LATCH, rather than with vehicle safety belts, are more likely to be installed correctly, research has shown. But in many vehicles, LATCH hardware could be better. Parents are more likely to install the seat correctly when the LATCH hardware meets certain key ease-of-use criteria.
At a time when healthy New Year’s resolutions are starting to fade, Primrose Schools, a high-quality early education and care provider with more than 290 schools coast-to-coast, is helping parents and children get excited about healthy living through its Healthy Bodies program. All Primrose schools across the country are focused on helping families live healthier, active lives in 2015 and beyond by incorporating fun activities into the classroom and providing resources for parents to use at home.
“At Primrose, we know the habits children develop early on shape their lifestyles into adulthood,” says Jo Kirchner, president and CEO of Primrose Schools. “It’s important for care providers and parents to work together, especially during the crucial first five years of a child’s life, to foster habits, values and behaviors that will lead to healthy choices later in life. Active Minds, Healthy Bodies and Happy Hearts® has been a part of our DNA at Primrose since our inception and our programs continue to evolve with ever-changing technology so that we can better partner with and equip parents to foster healthy living too.”
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7437951-primrose-schools-healthy-bodies/
Today, Colgate-Palmolive, in partnership with the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA), kicked off its annual Oral Health Month campaign with a special launch event at Los Angeles’s Plaza Mexico. To help raise awareness about the importance of a healthy smile, the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures® mobile dental van was on-site to provide bilingual learning materials and free dental screenings to children. Families in attendance also enjoyed a mariachi flash mob, live music and giveaways from local radio station, Univision 1020 AM.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7531451-colgate-oral-health-month/
According to the FBI, in 2013 more than 400,000 children were reported missing in the United States. National AMBER Alert Awareness Day, recognized annually in January, is a reminder of the dangers that face our children. Building on the significance of that day, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and Honeywell (NYSE:HON), with spokesperson Tia Mowry, today announced the KidSmartz™ “Safety Dance” Video Contest, a nationwide competition aimed at equipping elementary school students with the skills and confidence they need to be safer from abduction.
Actress Tia Mowry, star of Nickelodeon sitcom Instant Mom and real–life mother, has teamed up with NCMEC and Honeywell to promote KidSmartz and encourage schools to participate in the “Safety Dance” contest which provides kids a fun way of learning the four rules of personal safety.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7423851-honeywell-ncmec-kidsmartz/
