AYSO Creates New Standards in Child and Volunteer Protection; AYSO and World's Finest Chocolate Unite to Create The Safe Haven Program.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1999--

World's Finest(R) Chocolate has teamed up with The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) to help fund their Safe Haven Program.

Safe Haven is an exciting and cutting edge program developed by AYSO to address the growing need for children and volunteer protection in youth sports. This educational program includes accredited volunteer certification and protection policies.

While other organizations are talking about this issue, AYSO is taking the lead and moving to protect. The program strives to create a new standard in child and volunteer protection, with the motto "When we create an AYSO Safe Haven then no child or volunteer will be at risk."

Safe Haven is a proactive program that provides opportunity for positive, healthy child development. AYSO volunteers can receive full protection under the law if they receive training, perform certain job duties and act within the scope of AYSO's policies, procedures and guidelines. AYSO's goal is to provide certification training for all its volunteers over the next three years.

World's Finest Chocolate is the official chocolate fundraiser of AYSO. It will help many AYSO Regions across the country raise the funds they need by selling World's Finest Chocolate products. The products will feature the AYSO logo and the individual soccer region's name as well. A minimum of 50 per cent of the proceeds from each chocolate product sold will go directly to the local AYSO Region. In addition World's Finest Chocolate is donating a percentage of all AYSO sales to the organization's National Training and Support Center in Hawthorne, CA. These funds will go to help fund the Safe Haven Program.

"World's Finest Chocolate is proud to lend support to this important program. We must strive to protect children and volunteers--they are our greatest asset," said Ken Shuler, director of national programs for World's Finest Chocolate, Inc.

World's Finest Chocolate, located in Chicago, is celebrating 50 years of quality and heritage in providing chocolate products for the fundraising industry. A third-generation, family-owned business, it is one of a limited number of marketers of chocolate in the U.S. that manufactures its own chocolate products. Over the last 50 years, community service organizations and charitable causes worldwide have received billions of dollars through selling World's Finest Chocolate products.