Nickelodeon Announces 'Let's Just Play Giveaway' Winners

Nickelodeon Announces 'Let's Just Play Giveaway' Winners

Twenty Kids Receive $5,000 Each to Facilitate Play in their Communities; Network to Give Away More Than $1 Million through June 2006

NEW YORK, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon announces the latest round of winners of the "Let's Just Play Giveaway," an effort by the network to distribute more than $1 million in funds to help kids improve their schools' or communities' play facilities. Twenty kids from schools and organizations around the country will receive $5,000 each. The winners will be announced on Nick.com, and some will be featured on Nickelodeon's air. The "Let's Just Play Giveaway" is part of Nickelodeon's "Let's Just Play" pro-social campaign, which encourages healthy and active lifestyles for kids and families.

Kids can enter for a chance to win the "Let's Just Play Giveaway" by visiting www.nick.com or www.everythingnick.com. Partnering with teachers and other community-based leaders, kids must tell Nickelodeon what they need for their school or club to help them play better and why, and give three reasons why play is important. Once the entry form is completed and mailed to Nickelodeon, the winners will be randomly selected and announced at the top of each month.

The March to April "Let's Just Play Giveaway" winners are* (in alphabetical order by school/organization):

-- Dozier Elementary School (Erath, LA)
-- Eagle Elementary School (Brownsburg, IN)
-- Faith Hope Charity Inc.(Marlin, TX)
-- Falkville Elementary School (Falkville, AL)
-- Families & Youth AmeriCorps Safe After School (Las Cruces, NM)
-- Freedom Elementary School (Freedom, NH)
-- Hilliard Crossing Elementary School (Hilliard, OH)
-- Holy Name Catholic School (Ketchikan, AK)
-- Kingford Park Elementary School (Oswego, NY)
-- Lake Street Elementary School (Auburn, ME)
-- Laura Irwin Elementary School (Basin, WY)
-- Laurel Springs School (Laurel Springs, NJ)
-- Lead Deadwood School (Lead, SD)
-- Longden Elementary School (Temple City, CA)
-- Lost Creek Elementary School (Columbus, NE)
-- McCrory Public School (McCrory, AR)
-- North Albany Middle School (Albany, OR)
-- South Elementary School (Kennett, MO)
-- St. Paul The Apostle Catholic School (Spartanburg, SC)
-- The Compass School (Kingston, RI)

The "Let's Just Play Giveaway" is an extension of the 2004-2005 "Let's Just Play" grants program, where Nickelodeon awarded more than $600,000 to 81 organizations and schools. A total of $9 million was cited in the 1,800 grant applications received, causing the network to more than double its funding for the "Let's Just Play Giveaway."

Nickelodeon's "Let's Just Play" recently entered into a partnership with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, to combat the spread of childhood obesity. The three organizations are combining forces on a comprehensive media and public awareness campaign, encouraging young people to engage in healthy and active lifestyles.

As part of the partnership, the Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge, which focuses on four kids' real life struggles and successes in the quest to make their lives healthier, recently debuted on Nickelodeon April 30, and will carry out on-air over five months. The Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge serves as the kick-off to a movement that aims to increase awareness among young people about the importance of eating well and being physically fit, and that empowers kids and families to be agents of change in their communities. Kids can sign up to take the challenge at www.nick.com/letsjustplay. The next installment of the Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge airs June 4, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon.

About Nickelodeon's "Let's Just Play" Pro-Social Campaign

Currently in its third year, "Let's Just Play" is Nickelodeon's pro-social commitment to encourage kids to participate in active, healthy, and playful lifestyles -- a much needed antidote to reports of the rise in childhood obesity, the concerns about reduction of PE in schools and in after-school programs, and the over-scheduled and sedentary lifestyles of kids today. In addition to using the power of Nickelodeon's air, online sites, magazines, and celebrity support, the channel devotes significant year-round resources to building a grassroots infrastructure that supports physical play opportunities in communities everywhere.

On Oct. 1, 2005 Nickelodeon celebrated the second annual "Let's Just Play Worldwide Day of Play" celebration by going dark for three hours (12-3 p.m. ET/PT) to encourage play everywhere. Nick pre-empted regularly scheduled programming with its "Worldwide Day of Play" logo encouraging kids to be active and to engage in physical play. More than 250,000 kids participated nationwide. This year's Worldwide Day of Play will take place on Sept. 30.

"Let's Just Play" was recently awarded four Cable Television Public Affairs Association Beacon Awards, which recognize excellence in the public affairs industry. For more information on the "Let's Just Play" program, visit www.everythingnick.com.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, in its 27th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 89 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than ten consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:VIA.B).

* For individual names of winners, please contact Nickelodeon's press

department.

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, +1-212-846-7326, or joanna.roses@nick.com, or
Thamar Romero, +1-212-846-7491, or thamar.romero@nick.com

Web site: http://www.nick.com/
http://www.nick.com/letsjustplay
http://www.everythingnick.com/

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