FEATURE/Kids Spread a Year's Worth of Kindness Around the World; 1.2 Million People Affected.

SOUTH SALEM, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--Dec. 23, 1998--The holiday season may be the peak time for spreading goodwill to the less fortunate, but the children involved in Kids Care Clubs needed only a worthy cause to do their good deeds year-round - an estimated 90,000 of them throughout 1998.

Kids Care Clubs, a nine-year charity that began in New Canaan, Conn., provided more than 20,000 school-aged members of its 280 clubs in the U.S., Canada and Central America with hands-on projects and activities to help the poor, elderly, homeless, sick and handicapped. And the children enthusiastically rose to the challenge. They contributed more than $1 million in gifts and volunteered a quarter of a million hours of community service that positively impacted an estimated 1.2 million people. At even $2 per hour, the children donated more than a half million dollars in service time!

"With all the negative news about kids today, it's important to hear about the compassionate side of our young people. They not only care about others, but are willing to give their money, time and even their favorite toys to prove it," said Deborah Spaide, founder of Kids Care Clubs and author of Teaching Your Kids To Care.

Among the many caring projects accomplished by club members in 1998 were Holiday Hope Chests filled with gifts for homeless children, a hand-painted quilt for young hospice patients and a video showing how to properly brush your teeth for children in a Russian orphanage. Kids Care members also held a bowling party with the elderly and collected blankets, pajamas, shoes and school supplies for the needy in Mexico, Romania, Cameroon, Tanzania and Russia. Nationally, more than 2,000 Kids Care Club members participated in Make A Difference Day by baking pumpkin breads for the elderly housebound.

Kids Care Club publishes two magazines to spread the message that caring is cool - Young Heros and a new publication called KICS (Kids in Community Service) designed to address issues relevant to teenagers. In 1999, Kids Care will begin its Family Network, a program designed to encourage and help families to volunteer together to help the needy in their area.

For more information visit www.kidscare.org.