Dawn® Launches a Junior Wildlife Champions Program to Help Educate Future Generations on the Importance of Saving Wildlife as Part of its Dawn Helps Save Wildlife Platform

CINCINNATI, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past year Americans became acutely aware of the impact of oil spills on wildlife.  For more than 30 years, Procter & Gamble's Dawn brand has been dedicated to helping save oiled birds and marine wildlife from both natural and man-made disasters.  Today, Dawn expands its three-decade commitment to helping rescue wildlife with the launch of its Junior Wildlife Champions education and activity program, asking teachers and parents to help Dawn engage one million elementary school-aged children between now and the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

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In conjunction with its long-standing partners, International Bird Rescue (Bird Rescue) and The Marine Mammal Center, Dawn collaborated with Discovery Education, the leading provider of high quality curriculum-based digital content whose services are available in more than half of U.S. schools, to help provide teachers and families with new in-class lesson plans and at-home activities that teach youths and encourage them to explore the issues and get involved in their own ways.  These lesson plans and activities are available to educators and parents in English and Espanol starting today at Facebook.com/DawnSavesWildlife and www.discoveryeducation.com/dawn.

"As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill and 40th anniversary of Bird Rescue, the Junior Wildlife Champions program is especially timely for parents and teachers to marry current events with education," said Jay Holcomb, Director Emeritus of International Bird Rescue.  "We are thrilled to see this movement proactively promote all Americans – at every age – to be responsible for our environment and foster this passion within today's youths."

Throughout the program, three Junior Wildlife Ambassadors will be spotlighted for their individual efforts above and beyond to become involved in wildlife issues and embody the qualities that personify a true Junior Wildlife Champion.  They offer a child's perspective on how education influences their wildlife point of view and resulting preservation actions.

Gavin (age 7, Arizona) is educating children and adults alike on beach and ocean clean-up through his "Rescuing the Ocean" activities and website.  Gavin was the grand prize winner of the "Give Back. Simple Wins" essay contest, in which Bayer donated $5,000 in Gavin's name to the Surfrider Foundation for ocean and beach preservation.

Ellie (age 10, Maryland) is a dedicated fundraiser, and in 2009 she was the first child in the U.S. to raise more than $500 for The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) for its "Dollar-A-Pound" campaign.  Ellie was invited to participate in the Center's Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting event in recognition of her fundraising efforts.  This year, Ellie is working toward a goal of $2,000, which will bring her total to nearly $5,000 raised for TMMC via bake sales and community activities.

Olivia (age 11, New York) is a budding ornithologist and wildlife artist who has donated her watercolors, raising nearly $200,000 for Gulf recovery efforts. This spring, Olivia is releasing her first book, "Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf," featuring Olivia's hand-drawn illustrations, bird facts and photos.

"Dawn has a steadfast commitment to help wildlife causes, and we understand the key to successful wildlife preservation is education," said Dan Jackson, Dawn Brand Manager, Procter & Gamble.  "We are very excited to drive the effort fueling today's children to be the environmental stewards of tomorrow."

"As an organization that encourages the public to participate in the efforts to help conserve and protect marine mammals, we applaud Dawn's Junior Wildlife Champions program and encourage parents and teachers to get involved with kids using the lesson plans and home activities," said Jeff Boehm, Executive Director for The Marine Mammal Center.  "The Marine Mammal Center has always believed in the power of our youth to make a change and is honored to work with Dawn to educate and inspire the next generation."

In June 2009, Dawn embarked on its Everyday Wildlife Champions program, a social forum that unites more than 300,000 individuals who share a passion for wildlife with an opportunity to connect and communicate.  From March to September, Junior Wildlife Champions will add one million school-aged children to Dawn's movement.  For more information about Dawn's Junior Wildlife Champions, please visit Facebook.com/DawnSavesWildlife.

About P&G (NYSE: PG)

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Dawn Everyday Wildlife Champions

An Everyday Wildlife Champion views helping to saving wildlife as an everyday thing. It's doing simple tasks, little by little, to make a huge difference. To join the movement, please visit Facebook.com/DawnSavesWildlife.

About The International Bird Rescue Research Center

The International Bird Rescue (Bird Rescue) has been saving aquatic birds around the world since 1971, and is a world leader in oiled wildlife emergency response, rehabilitation, research and education. Its team of specialists has led oiled wildlife rescue efforts in over 200 oil spills in 11 states, two U.S. territories, and 7 different countries. Bird Rescue is equally proud of the care it provides to the 5,000 injured, hungry, or orphaned birds that comes into its centers each year. International Bird Rescue is committed to ensuring that every bird impacted by changes to their environment is given hope to survive and thrive. Please visit www.ibrrc.org  for more information.

About The Marine Mammal Center

Since 1975, The Marine Mammal Center, headquartered in Sausalito, CA has rescued and treated more than 16,000 marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, sea otters and even dolphins and porpoises. It is the largest marine mammal facility of its kind and is authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service to combine animal rehabilitation with an on-site research lab to investigate marine mammal health, and provide educational programming designed to expand knowledge about the connections humans share with marine mammals and the ocean environment. Please visit www.marinemammalcenter.org  for more information.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) revolutionized television with Discovery Channel and is now transforming classrooms through Discovery Education.  Powered by the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education combines scientifically proven, standards-based digital media and a dynamic user community in order to empower teachers to improve student achievement.  Already, more than half of all U.S. schools access Discovery Education digital services.  Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

SOURCE P&G