News from Children for Children

For more information contact: Sara Garlick, 212-850-4172

CHILDREN BRING FAMOUS WORDS ‘EVERYBODY CAN BE GREAT BECAUSE EVERYBODY CAN SERVE’ ALIVE WITH SERVICE.

Thousands answer Dr. King’s call to serve during sixth annual ‘Grow Involved’® hands-on service event.

NEW YORK, NY (01/15/2008)(readMedia)-- Answering a call to service – thousands of young people, their families and friends from New York and across the nation will have a day on, not a day off, to bring to life Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. Volunteers will spend their day giving during Children for Children’s Grow Involved® on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, run in partnership with the “I Have A Dream” Foundation®, and made possible by the Citi Foundation.

“We are continually inspired by the enthusiasm with which thousands of volunteers embrace the importance of engaging youth from all backgrounds in service and giving starting at an early age,” said Maggie Jones, Executive Director of Children for Children (CFC). “It is amazing to see so many people give up their day off to get involved in their community.”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s death and many feel a renewed sense of urgency to give back to their communities and remember the man who brought opportunity to so many.

Generations of Giving

CFC volunteer David Martins, 13, of P.S. 89 in the Bronx will be leading a project at Martin Luther King High School that will raise awareness and money to help fight malaria in Africa. This day, Martins said, is the perfect time for youth to become involved in their local and global communities.

“Martin Luther King made a big change in history,” Martins said. “We are doing a big project so that people know that we care about them and we’re trying our hardest to make the world better like he did.”

Volunteers will be participating at 15 sites nationwide – from New York City to Denver and Los Angeles. In New York City, thousands of volunteers will gather at two locations, Martin Luther King High School and P.S./I.S. 57 James Weldon Johnson School, where they will engage in hands-on volunteer projects and reflect on Dr. King’s lifelong commitment to service and selflessness.

James Yaro, 16, a member of Children for Children’s Youth Planning Committee in New York feels his generation has an obligation to renew their commitment to community.

“People my age should learn to respect what Dr. King did for the world and try to replicate his caring and give back to their communities the way he did,” Yaro said.

Projects completed by volunteers will benefit organizations like the ASPCA, Homes for the Homeless, and local senior centers.

“I Have a Dream”

Just as Dr. King lived his famous words: I have a dream, so are the ‘Dreamers’ of the “I Have A Dream” Foundation, which provides mentoring and guaranteed tuition support to students in communities around the nation with the goal of successfully completing high school and pursuing higher education.

These Dreamers, in answer to Dr. King’s call to service, will participate in CFC’s Grow Involved® hands-on service activities in Manhattan as well as in communities around the nation.

“We’re thrilled that hundreds of Dreamers and their friends and family will come together from coast to coast to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. through a day of service and leadership,” Iris Chen, President & CEO of the “I Have A Dream” Foundation, said. “We are excited to join efforts with Children for Children and the Citi Foundation help to live out Dr. King’s call to service.”

Dreamers in Boulder, Colorado, will participate in a march to a local school where they will make eco-friendly canvas tote bags and patriotic flag pins. Dreamers in Fort Worth, Texas, will serve their community members by decorating greeting cards for local senior citizens.

“I Have A Dream” works year-round to engage Dreamers in strengthening their communities, and takes special time in January to celebrate Dr. King and his vision for a progressive and engaged nation.

“The Grow Involved® event is a great opportunity to celebrate the leader who inspired our name and who continues to motivate us every day to pursue our dreams for a better world,” Chen said. “It will be a wonderful day, and we look forward to expanding the event to even more children and communities in the future.”

“Dr. King,” volunteer David Martins said, ”would be proud if he saw this day of service. “He would know that what he did was something big,” he said.

For more information on Grow Involved® on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and its hands-on projects, contact:

Sara Garlick; Children for Children; 212-850-4172; www.childrenforchildren.org

For more information on the “I Have A Dream” Foundation, contact:

Noelle Dong; “I Have A Dream” Foundation; 212-293-5480 ext. 35; ndong@ihad.org; www.ihad.org

Children for Children, a non profit organization founded by parents in 1996, fosters community involvement and social responsibility in young people. CFC’s wide range of programs encourage children to Grow Involved®, beginning at an early age, helping children and others. CFC also provides resources to schools that allow them to incorporate service-learning into their programs. CFC engages more than 52,000 young people across the country each year. To learn more, visit: www.childrenforchildren.org.

The “I Have A Dream” Foundation empowers children in low-income communities to achieve higher education by providing them with guaranteed tuition support and equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and habits they need to gain entry to higher education and succeed in college and beyond. Through a unique approach, “I Have A Dream” sponsors an entire grade level of 50-150 students, called “Dreamers”, in public elementary schools or public housing developments, and the program works with these students from an early age all the way to college. Upon high school graduation, each Dreamer receives guaranteed tuition assistance for higher education. Currently, more than 4,000 Dreamers are on the pathway to college in 16 states, Washington, D.C., and New Zealand, following some 10,000 Dreamers who came before them. To learn more, visit: www.ihad.org.

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brands include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

The Citi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Citi, focuses its grant and giving activities primarily in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Additional information can be found at www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/foundation/.