FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 13, 2007
Contact: Anne Ginther (612)210-9952 cell / (214)383-4743 office

CONTEST UNIFIES GOVERNORS & STUDENTS IN REBUILDING GULF

A nationwide commemoration of the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina kicked off today in Tennessee as Governor Phil Bredesen met with seventh grade student Maddie L.  of Nashville. The meeting is part of a nationwide project sponsored by RandomKid, a non-profit that helps kids help others, which asked students to design an "accessory" made out of house shaped key chains to present to their governors. Maddie linked her key chains together to form a tie for Governor Bredesen with the words "#1 Governor" displayed in the open face of the bottom key chain, and secured it around his neck with a ribbon. The key chains were designed by kids in Iowa and are being sold across the nation to raise money for Habitat for Humanity in the Gulf Coast region.

"I wanted to help the world somehow and I was a little frustrated because people kept saying, 'no, this is a job for an adult,' and I thought, 'why can't kids help?" said Maddie. "I credit this opportunity to Talia Leman and RandomKid. I would never have the courage, or maybe the opportunity to start helping. Kids can make a difference."

"I commend Maddie for taking on this initiative, as her efforts will truly make a difference to the citizens of the Gulf region," said Governor Bredesen. "Maddie stands as a role model, proving you're never too young to take notice and take action. Her work embodies the true spirit of community service."

More than a year and a half after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, 90,000 people still live in 240 square foot trailers, usually 3 to a trailer. Thousands more are living in their gutted out homes, unable to afford to rebuild. "I can't imagine living in something the size of my garage with my whole family for so long," says 14-year-old Iowan Sarah L., who helped design the house-shaped key chains, "I'd go crazy !" That's why Sarah, and seven other kids around the USA who work along side her, have been coming up with all sorts of ways to raise money and awareness about the plight of the gulf. This is their latest project: An awareness campaign--KID style.

The campaign features a "Decorate Your Governor" contest that ran through June 1, 2007. On an interactive webpage (www.randomkid.org/contest.html), kids clicked on their state on a map, and their governor's face appeared on a generic body. The kids can then grab different colors of house-shaped key chains from the governor’s virtual desk, and "decorate" their governor by linking them together to form a creative winning accessory for the governor to wear during the days leading up to the second anniversary of hurricane Katrina hitting the gulf, August 29, 2007. By wearing such things as kid-designed neckties, suspenders, crowns and necklaces formed out of the small aluminum houses, Sarah hopes that the governors will join students in a show of solidarity for remembering the continued needs of the region. The kids' goal is to have all 50 governors participate, and so far have generated the interest of nearly half of the governors' offices.

Sarah and 12-year-old Talia Leman designed and manufactured the key chains to raise money for gulf rebuilding projects. Sarah and Talia organized this project through a non-profit that Talia started in 2005 called "RandomKid," an organization whose mission is to help kids help others (www.randomkid.org). In order to address the needs of the gulf, the kids established the eight-member "RandomKid National Task Force to Rebuild the Gulf" and this is their third project.

According to numbers tracked by Randomkid, kids have already demonstrated the magnitude of their commitment to the gulf. Combining their bake sales, lemonade stands, and other creative fundraisers, schoolchildren across the USA reported raising more than $10 million dollars in 2005-2006 for a variety of hurricane relief and rebuilding charities, including the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Oprah's Angel Network, Bush Clinton Katrina Fund, and more.

"The constitution infers that those who have the ability to help others also have the responsibility," says Sarah. "We plan to live up to that responsibility and help thousands of people in the gulf get back on their feet."

For more information about the awareness campaign and contest for kids, please visit www.randomkid.org/gulf.html.

About RandomKid (www.randomkid.org)

RandomKid is a 501C3 nonprofit with the mission to take the goodness of the child and turn it into goodness for the world, by helping kids help others. Founded by 12 year-old Talia Leman in 2005 after uniting kids across the USA to report over 10 million for hurricane Katrina/Rita relief, Randomkid now works to educate, mobilize and empower youth to meaningfully impact a broad spectrum of local, national and global needs.

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