Nickelodeon said it will distribute more than $1 million to kids nationwide from September-June 2006 as part of its “Let’s Just Play” program.
The network also signed Kellogg NA Co. as the first of 10 monthly partners for the campaign, with Kellogg agreeing to match a Nickelodeon grant of $100,000 for September.
As part of its sponsorship, Kellogg’s logo will be featured in Nickelodeon “call for entries” spots for the program, in which kids, teachers and community leaders will be asked to tell Nickelodeon “what they need for their school or club to help them play better and why,” according to the network.
Over the 10-month period, Nickelodeon said it will award a minimum of 20 winners per month with $5,000 each to help facilitate play in their community.
To commemorate the campaign, Nickelodeon will hold its second annual “Worldwide Day of Play” Oct. 1, when it will go dark for three hours. Nickelodeon said it will pre-empt regularly scheduled programming, replacing its shows with images “encouraging kids to be active and to engage in physical play,” along with the Worldwide Day of Play logo.
