AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate Announces Partnership with First Book to Launch Great Moments in World History: Global Stories Where Chocolate Sparked Discovery, Innovation, and Imagination! During National Teacher Appreciation Week

The partnership will kick off during national Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7 – 12) with a program designed to recognize over 2,000 educators in the First Book Network working with children in grades 4-8. Each educator will receive an inaugural edition of the Educator's Guide Great Moments in World History: Global Stories Where Chocolate Sparked Discovery, Innovation, and Imagination! This new STEM-based, 14-week curriculum was published by National Geographic Books in partnership with Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Food Historians and leading foodways experts from historical sites across North America, and is a major step in fulfilling Forrest E. Mars, Jr. and the Mars Family's long standing legacy in support of the mission of education. 

Educators will also receive a product sample of AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate and an AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate-branded First Book gift credit, which can be used to purchase additional books and resources on the First Book Marketplace, First Book's award-winning e-commerce site.

First Book and Mars Wrigley Confectionery will also share a free downloadable version of the Great Moments in World History: Global Stories Where Chocolate Sparked Discovery, Innovation, and Imagination! and the First Book Marketplace gift credit with additional educators in the First Book Network  serving grades 4-8. In all, First Book serves approximately 80,000 educators children in this age range.

"AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate is an artisanal chocolate fashioned off of ingredient lists from the 1700's.  It is used by museum and living history sites across North America, such as the Smithsonian, Mount Vernon, and Monticello and the National Archives to engage audiences in the fascinating story of how chocolate has been woven through the fabric of culture through the ages," said Gail Broadright, Director of Family Properties, Mars Wrigley Confectionery. "By partnering with First Book, we are taking these amazing stories into classrooms in communities where students may not have access to these types of institutions. Everyone should have the opportunity to know chocolate's sweet journey."

Great Moments in World History: Global Stories Where Chocolate Sparked Discovery, Innovation, and Imagination! was developed to help students take a journey in time to see how chocolate played an integral role in world history. Through this engaging, interactive guide, students will understand the story of America and the world "through the unique lens of chocolate," learning how chocolate played a transforming role in trade, commerce, medicine, the military, and culture.

According to Kyle Zimmer, president, co-founder, and CEO of First Book, "All children deserve equal access to a quality education. First Book's partnership with Mars will allow us to bring thousands of new books and resources like the Chocolate Global Stories Educator's Guide to our members serving children in need." Mars is helping us give these educators the tools they need to make a difference in the lives of the children they serve.

To formulate the lessons in this guide, the team at National Geographic Books and David Borghesani, Chocolate History Research Manager, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, received support from a variety of iconic historic American sites including Captain Jackson's Historic Chocolate Shop at the Old North Church & Historic Site, Boston; Fort Ticonderoga, New York; George Washington's Mount Vernon, Virginia; the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia; Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Virginia; and Old Salem Museums & Gardens, North Carolina.

Other initiatives that AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate and First Book will undertake in 2018 include partnering to provide fun, informative and inspiring experiences for the education community at national conferences, and a program of virtual classroom lectures and Q&A series for students of the First Book teachers with Borghesani. A digital free download of the Guide can be found here:  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pdf/chocolate-ed-guide.pdf

About AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate
In 2003, MWC undertook an extensive global research initiative to uncover the true history of chocolate. A group from MWC led a multi-disciplinary team of more than 115 experts from around the globe who accessed over 200 archives, libraries, museums and private collections to reveal chocolate's origin and history in the Americas. "CHOCOLATE: History, Culture, and Heritage," has contributions from 45 authors, including researchers, culinary chefs, food scientists and historians from leading historic institutions, and was published in 2009 by Wiley.

Out of this research project, the AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate brand was developed in 2006 by MWC to help educate consumers about the history of our multi-cultural nation through the engaging story of one of our most beloved foods…chocolate!  With a flavor profile drawn directly from the archives of chocolate's historic past, AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate provides an inspiring, versatile way to make, bake, test, explore, play, share and show love. With AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate, individuals have a culinary partner for making new stories of their own - from creating to entertaining to educating. Made with all-natural ingredients and no preservatives, AMERICANHERITAGE® Chocolate currently comes in four unique formats: chocolate sticks, chocolate bites, chocolate baking/grating blocks, and finely grated chocolate drink mix. 2018 will see the introduction of new product formats.

In 2015, MWC launched "Great Moments In Chocolate History," a book created in partnership with the National Geographic Society. "Great Moments In Chocolate History" is the first book in a two-book agreement between MWC and National Geographic Books and is authored by Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, MWC. The book brings chocolate's story to life through detailed information and extraordinary images based on decade's worth of research by MWC and our uncommon collaborators. The book completes the chocolate-lover's experience with 20 delicious recipes coupled with their historical significance, including two recipes featuring AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate. More information about the book and chocolate history is available at http://americanheritagechocolate.com/home/about_book.

AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate is sold at over 200 fine gift shops at historic sites, museums and historic inns across the USA and Canada. The brand will also soon be available at e-commerce retailers Holiday 2017 and multi-channel specialty retailers in 2018. For a complete listing, or to purchase online, please visit our website at www.AmericanHeritageChocolate.com. 

Learn more about AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate at www.Facebook.com/AmericanHeritageChocolate, on Instagram at @AmericanHeritageChocolate, Twitter @Choc_history, Tumblr @americanheritagechocolate.tumblr.com, and on Pinterest @Chochistory.

About Mars, Incorporated
Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world's best-loved brands: M&M's®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN'S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

About First Book
First Book transforms the lives of children in need. Through a sustainable, market-driven model, First Book is creating equal access to quality education — making everything from brand new, high-quality books and educational resources, to sports equipment, winter coats, snacks, and more – affordable to its member network of more than 375,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need. Since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low income families in more than 30 countries. First Book currently reaches an average of 5 million children every year and supports more than one in four of the estimated 1.3 million classrooms and programs serving children in need. With an additional 1,000 educators joining each week, First Book is the largest and fastest-growing network of educators in the United States exclusively serving kids in need.

Eligible educators, librarians, providers, and others serving children in need can sign up at firstbook.org/register. For more information, please visit firstbook.org or follow the latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Mars Wrigley Confectionery, LLC

Related Links

http://www.AmericanHeritageChocolate.com