Hundreds of San Diego Youth Deliver "Kindness Packs" to Local Hospitals - Brainchild of Fourth-Grader Who Received $2,500 Award from Scholastic

Online, June 7, 2010 (Newswire.com) - San Diego, CA (June 3, 2010) - Children from all over San Diego gathered today at Deer Canyon Elementary School to make Kindness Packs to take to children at The Ronald McDonald House. Skyler Pinto, a fourth-grade student and member of Kids for Peace, came up with this project idea last summer, inspired by his participation in The Great Kindness Challenge.

Skyler's idea was to make children in hospitals feel happy by giving them a care package called a Kindness Pack. Kindness Packs are hand-painted knapsacks filled with art supplies, toys, a healthy snack, a stuffed animal, a book and a caring note of friendship from the child making the pack. Skyler entered his idea in Scholastic's BE BIG in Your Community Contest and won a $2,500 award to bring his big idea to life.

The nearly 100 boys and girls who participated were treated to a festive pep rally featuring musician Karl Anthony and a special video narrated by Skyler Pinto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dG6oYskEgA). In the video, Skyler shared his BIG IDEA and encouraged other children to "BE BIG" and make a difference in their community by joining The Great Kindness Challenge and living out the
Kids for Peace Peace Pledge.

After assembling the Kindness Packs, children were escorted to the Ronald McDonald House, where they presented their gifts in person.

In addition to the support from Scholastic, KIND Snacks donated fruit and nut bars for both the Kindness Packs and the kids assembling them. Books for the Kindness Packs were provided by Hay House. And San Diego-area Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants supported the event by donating 50% of their evening's proceeds to those presenting a special flyer.

About Kids for Peace

Kids for Peace is a global, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to uplifting our world through love and action. Our mission is to cultivate every child's innate ability to foster peace through cross-cultural experiences and hands-on arts, service and environmental projects. Once a small neighborhood group of children, Kids for Peace has grown to over 50 chapters worldwide. Each chapter, made up of boys and girls of all ages, meets regularly to fulfill our peaceful mission.