KIDS VOTING ARIZONA SEEKING SPONSORS FOR DEMOCRACY
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Released July 4, 2008 Just $15 Can Help an Arizona Classroom Learn the Power of Voting [Arizona]-- The Fourth of July is a special time to celebrate our national independence and the freedoms we cherish as individuals. For Kids Voting Arizona, it also marked the beginning of a campaign to provide every Arizona student with the opportunity to vote in the Kids Voting General Election this fall. To date, 675 schools, representing nearly a half million students, are registered to vote in the November 4th, 2008 Kids Voting Arizona General Election. Now celebrating its 20th year, Kids Voting Arizona is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-driven voter education program that provides its hands-on curriculum and teacher training free to all Arizona schools upon request. Kids Voting classroom activities, coupled with family exercises and an opportunity to vote in a Kids Voting election, have been shown to increase adult turnout by as much as 5%. “Over 93,000 kids voted last February in the Kids Voting Presidential Preference election, and since then we’ve just been overwhelmed with the positive response from schools and interest in the November election. While this is a great trend for democracy and civic engagement in our state, it does present some challenges for our organization.” noted Jeffrey Schrade, Senior Director for Kids Voting Arizona. “With increased demand comes increased costs and we’re going need help to make sure that we can reach all the children who want to cast a Kids Voting ballot in November.” “The value of this lesson is immeasurable – by teaching this generation to exercise their right and responsibility as citizens to vote, we are preserving the health of our democratic republic. My favorite thing about the Kids Voting program is that it includes activities for discussing the voting process with family at home. How would you answer if your child asked if you voted?” reflected Phoenix kindergarten teacher Melissa Garcia. Individuals interested in sponsoring a local classroom to vote in the November Kids Voting Arizona election can visit http://www.kidsvotingaz.org or call (602) 340-7366 for more information. About Kids Voting Arizona About the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education
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