CHICAGO, April 1, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Zkid Network Company, Inc. (OTCBB:ZKID) and the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) National Child I.D. Program (NCIDP) sign 3-year marketing and distribution agreement that will combine the Zkid Mcgruff(r) Kidskeep(r) Internet safety software with NCIDP's inkless fingerprint system; creating the Zkid Mcgruff(r) Child Safety Kit; now being made available to major retail outlets and strategic corporate sponsors of the NCIDP.
The cooperative marketing agreement allows ZKID to package its KidsKeep(r) proprietary Internet safety software with the NCIDP's inkless fingerprint kit; currently in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This is the largest ongoing corporate sponsored distribution of child identification and Internet safety software effort ever conducted in the United States. Corporate Sponsors Include: Clear Channel Communications (NYSE:CCU) Hershey Foods Corporation (NYSE:HSY) Best Western Hotels, Optimist International Clubs, Rotary Clubs and Touchstone Energy. In the fall of 2001 the FBI partnered with NCIDP allowing the program to supply child I.D. Kits to more than 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies across the country.
"This marketing agreement is very significant," stated Jon Darmstadter, CEO Zkid Network Company. "It allows Zkid Network to join the largest ongoing corporate sponsored distribution effort of its kind; that will create an unprecedented level of awareness and distribution of our Zkid Mcgruff(r) KidsKeep(r) Internet safety software as we continue to build a brand presence at the retail level."
Kenny Hansmire, Executive Director of the National Child Identification Program, stated: "The resounding success of our National Child Identification Program is due in large to our dedicated partners and corporate sponsors; we have helped protect more than 13 million children in the last five years; teaming up with Zkid Network will allow us to meet our over all goal of reaching 60 Million children over the next few years."
NCIDP was created in 1997 by the AFCA as a community service initiative to help protect America's children. The program's inkless fingerprint identification kit provides parents and guardians with a clean, convenient way to record their child's fingerprints and physical characteristics on a card they keep at home. The largest distribution occurred in Texas when then Governor, George W. Bush, now president of the United States, declared March 2000 as "Child Identification Month."
"The NCIDP and AFCA were recognized by Congress in 2001 with the unanimous passing of Congressional Resolution 100. The teamwork between coaches, athletes, elected officials and corporate partners will allow us to meet our goal of protecting every child in America over the next few years," quoted a Zkid official.
ZKID Network Company is a proprietary software company dedicated to providing a totally safe Internet environment for children. Zkid Mcgruff(r) KidsKeep(r) software provides safe Internet, e-mail and chatroom capabilities as well as fully animated original educational/entertainment content to children ages 4-10. Subscribers can participate in a virtual private network (VPN) specifically designed to provide a totally safe Internet environment for children. The company's proprietary software is now available in CD for distribution on a subscriber basis to a target market of more than 60 million net users and 30 million children who use the Internet in the U.S., and millions more overseas. Zkid Network Company, Inc. is an official licensee of the National Crime Prevention Council / Milstein Center For Online Protection and has the right to distribute McGruff(r), Scruff(r) and "Take A Bite Out Of Crime" licensed products. For additional information visit our Website: www.zkidnetwork.com or Contact: James Hunter Zkid Network Company, Inc. 1-800-787-5439.
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