Scholastic Launches the “Clifford BE BIG in Your Community” Contest -- Your Big Idea Could Win Up to $5,000! Plus, Enter Here to Win a Clifford Plush Toy! #GIVEAWAY

Traditional classes like math, science, reading, history, etc., are extremely important in raising a well-rounded child, but it’s also crucial that children learn character-building skills, such as being kind, helping others, and sharing. A new study commissioned by Scholastic Media and the HandsOn Network, “It Starts with Character: Inspiring Kids & Teens to Volunteer,” bears this out. The study found that children and teens who have more exposure to character-building skills are more likely to volunteer in their communities and to do so more often. Imagine what a wonderful world we could create if more people did that! Check out these numbers from the study’s findings:

• Parents (84 percent), teachers (78 percent), kids age 6–11 (73 percent), and teens age 12–17 (64 percent) say character-building skills are among the most important skills to develop along with academic skills in order to be successful in life.

• The more kids and teens are exposed to character-building skills, the greater their level of interest in volunteering. Additionally, kids and teens who are more exposed to character-building skills volunteer more frequently.

• Eighty-eight percent of parents and 93 percent of teachers believe that volunteering provides opportunities for children to build character.

• Ninety-four percent of parents and 98 percent of teachers agree that media (such as TV, film, books, magazines, games, apps and the Internet) can play an important role in teaching kids the value of character education; 63 percent of teachers believe that kids would benefit from more media exposure to lessons about character-building skills.

The study also found that:

• Teacher, kid and teen survey respondents name Clifford The Big Red Dog® as the character most associated with teaching character-building skills relative to other characters.

• The vast majority of parents (96 percent), teachers (98 percent), kids (91 percent), and teens (81 percent) surveyed agree that Clifford’s BIG Ideas are valuable/important.

With all these findings in mind, Scholastic just launched its fourth annual “Clifford BE BIG in Your Community” national contest! Designed to inspire people to engage in service and volunteerism, the contest invites kids of all ages, teachers, parents and community leaders to submit proposals that demonstrate how Clifford’s BIG Ideas (Share, Help Others, Be Kind, Be Responsible, Play Fair, Be a Good Friend, Believe in Yourself, Have Respect, Work Together and Be Truthful) can make the world a better place. Submitted ideas vie for the chance to win up to $10,000 in community grants from the BE BIG Fund in order to implement the winning proposals! (The grand prize winner receives a $5,000 community grant. Five first place winners will receive $1,000 each.) This contest ends June 22, 2012.

Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, teacher, child care provider or anyone who engages regularly with children, I hope you’ll consider the many ways in which you can help kids develop good character. Teach them Clifford’s BIG Ideas, and help them to come up with ways in which they can implement them at home and school, and in their community.

IMPORTANT LINKS

Entry forms for the Clifford BE BIG in Your Community contest can be found at:
www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest/

To explore your local HandsOn Network action center for opportunities to serve in your community, go to:
www.handsonnetwork.org/actioncenters/map

Complete rules for the Clifford BE BIG in Your Community contest are online at:
www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contestrules

GIVEAWAY

To inspire you to enter the “Clifford BE BIG in Your Community” contest and demonstrate Clifford’s BIG Ideas, Scholastic has generously donated the adorable Clifford plush toy pictured above for one lucky winner! This toy was created by the Douglas Company, and I’m sure they would love for you to follow them on Facebook! To enter to win this adorable Clifford plush toy, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Open to U.S. residents only. This giveaway ends Tuesday, February 21, 2012, at 11:59 PM EST.

CONTEST CLOSED. Congratulations to the winner: Gianna!



a Rafflecopter giveaway




DISCLOSURE: No products or compensation were exchanged for this post.