K.I.D.S. PSA Gets Times Square Debut!

After 25 years of helping children and families in need with donated new products, the charity Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.) is making it easier for millions of people in New York’s famous Times Square district to support its efforts. On August 15, a 15-second Public Service Announcement will start airing on the CBS Spectacular jumbo screen with instructions for mobile phone users to text “Happykids 25” to 27138; this triggers a $25 donation to K.I.D.S., helping put desperately needed new merchandise in the hands of those who could use it most. K.I.D.S.’ low overhead means that each $25 donation will help distribute $250 worth of donated new product, making the lives of children and families brighter.

“K.I.D.S. is unique in its ability to reach 4.5 million children in need every year, helping them strive for a better life than they have,” said K.I.D.S. President Janice Weinman. “By tapping into the new technology of mobile phone giving, we are asking many more people to help us continue to make a difference in the future of our youth, by giving them new product, one child at a time.”

The 15-second PSA will run hourly, 18 hours per day, from August 15 through October 15 on CBS’ big screen on the north side of 42nd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues. Over the 62-day period, the spot will run a minimum of 1,116 times; 1.5 million people view the screen every day.

The spot promotes K.I.D.S.’ history of reaching 65 million children with nearly $1 billion worth of new apparel, shoes, toys, books, DVDs, juvenile products and more, since 1985. In this 25th anniversary year, K.I.D.S.’ goal for donated new product is $100 million. The PSA can also be seen on K.I.D.S.’ Web site http://www.kidsdonations.org and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/kidsincmedia.

K.I.D.S.’ Web site also offers information on how people can directly join the mission to help children in need. The “Get Involved” section of the site has suggestions for personal and group projects to help children in need, such as product collection drives and fundraisers. Supporters can also keep up with K.I.D.S. on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KIDSdonations and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/KIDSdonations.