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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CELEBRATION USA
PROCEEDS WITH PLANS FOR ANNUAL
NATIONAL SCHOOL
CELEBRATION AND "PLEDGE ACROSS AMERICA"
A nationwide
tribute to schools, teachers and students
Villa Park, CA
(September 27, 2001) - Celebration USA, Inc. today announced
overwhelming national support and expected participation for this
year's National School Celebration and synchronized "Pledge
Across America" to be held Friday, October 12th. The non-profit
educational organization said that plans for the annual patriotic
celebration were on schedule, despite the terrorist attacks of
September 11th.
Celebration
USA founder, Paula Burton said, "Now more than ever, our school
children are eager to embrace the patriotic symbols of our nation,
and the National School Celebration is the ideal occasion for all of
us to show our pride in our schools, educators and students."
The highlight of this year's planned National School Celebration will
be a synchronized Pledge Across America, uniting school students as
they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge is scheduled to be
taken at precisely 2:00 p.m. in the Eastern Time zone, 1:00 p.m.
Central, noon Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Pacific, 10:00 a.m. in Alaska and
8:00 a.m. in Hawaii.
Plans for
October's National School Celebration had been underway for several
months prior to the tragic events of September 11th. "Since the
horrific attacks on our country, we have seen an astonishing increase
of interest and support for the National School Celebration and
Pledge Across America from teachers, school district and elected
officials and of course the students. We are so excited about doing
our part in bringing the nation's youth together during this time of
healing," commented Burton.
About Celebration USA
Celebration USA,
Inc. is a non-profit educational organization established in 1992 to
encourage young people to honor the principles of democracy, good
citizenship and patriotism. Its mission is to provide educational
resources to supplement and enrich existing American history
curricula. The group not only oversees the development of these
materials, but also sponsors the "Catch the Spirit!"
Singers, who have performed for major political and community events
throughout California and on four occasions, represented California
at the Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C. Celebration USA's
activities have been praised by Presidents Bush and Clinton,
Secretary of State Colin Powell, and chronicled in several national
and regional publications.
The organization's
founder, Paula Burton, a Dutch immigrant whose parents were aided by
Americans during the Nazi occupation of Holland, came to the United
States with her parents and brother at the age of nine years. Her
dream of being a public school teacher became a reality after she won
a four-year scholarship and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Elementary Education from Brigham Young University. She has taught
all grade levels, including ESL (English as a second language,) and
special education classes.
Celebration USA
had its origins in a California classroom when Burton became dismayed
by her students' apathy when they recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
One day she wrote the word indivisible on the board and asked for a
definition. The response? "You can't see it!" This started
her educational campaign to teach students to understand the words of
the Pledge and, thereby, develop pride in being American. Paula
discovered that the Pledge had been written for a National School
Celebration, a patriotic observance held in 1892, complete with a
Presidential proclamation. She developed manuals and music that
evolved into a series of curriculums that were eventually distributed
to school districts across the country. The organization's ongoing
efforts consist of the distribution of thousands of professionally
recorded CDs that have been sent to every public school in California
and are available nationally to all educators free of charge via the
organization's web site, www.celebrationusa.org. Selections include
The Pledge of Allegiance Song, The Constitution Lives, Bill of Rights
Song, a Military Medley, Folk Song Medley, and other original
patriotic numbers.
National sponsors
for Celebration USA's efforts include Farmers Insurance Group. |
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