This Week in Policy & Public Interest News: 11 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy policy and public interest press releases from PR Newswire, including a call for voter registration and USPS's call for letters to Santa.

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the policy and public interest industries stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. Michelle Obama, Chris Paul, Liza Koshy and More Call on Americans to Register to Vote Ahead of 2024 Presidential Election
   Despite the important local elections happening across the country, in years like this one, turnout can be extremely low. This National Voter Registration Day, and throughout the Week of Action, When We All Vote is committed to reaching eligible voters and ensuring they are ready to make their voices heard in each and every election.
2. U.S. News Releases 2024 Best Colleges Rankings
   Serving as a guide for prospective students and their families, the rankings evaluate 1,500 colleges and universities using up to 19 measures of academic quality. This year's rankings placed a greater emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students, demonstrating the most significant methodological change in the rankings' history.
3. Write to Santa Today!
   Had a rough year? Need some holiday magic? Write a letter to Santa! It may seem too soon, but he starts early. USPS Operation Santa is now accepting letters. Send yours today!
4. PetSmart Charities Unleashes First-Ever Annual Pet Hunger Awareness Day on Sept. 26
   According to PetSmart Charities research, 30 million pets in the U.S. face hunger every year. The organization is launching Pet Hunger Awareness Day to address the disastrous consequences families in need face.
5. World Vision and VisionFund launch Strong Women Impact Fund to promote economic empowerment for women in poverty
   The Strong Women Impact Fund supports innovative financial products designed to serve clients at the bottom of the economic ladder as they work to build financial resilience, improve household well-being, and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
6. Crayola Flowers: A Groundbreaking New Platform that Allows Kindness to Blossom
   Crayola Flowers is a pioneering platform developed by Mrs. Bloom's through which consumers can purchase colorful blooms with a portion of proceeds from every sale donated to a participating nonprofit of their choice.
7. College Men View Existing Sex Education and Sexual Assault Prevention Trainings to be Ineffective and Lack Institutional Trust, New Report Shows
   "Sexual assault topped respondents' list of safety concerns on campus, and as our previous research has shown, college men want to be empowered to help prevent campus sexual assault, but they do not know how," said Tracey Vitchers, Executive Director of It's On Us.
8. Mild Recession Remains Likeliest Outcome as Inflation and Labor Markets Cool
   "Our current prediction for a mild downturn in the first half of 2024 is predicated on the belief that consumers will begin pausing their spending, in part due to the exhaustion of those funds and having to realign to a more sustainable relationship between spending and incomes," said Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Fannie Mae.
9. McGruff the Crime Dog smells big crime with the sale of fake pills and other counterfeit products
   "By working together to reduce the scourge of fakes and raising awareness about the dangers and costs of purchasing counterfeits, it's our hope that we can make a real difference in this ongoing effort," said Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO.
10. Merrell, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America PSA Addresses Need for Mentorship
    Today, more than 30,000 youth are on the waiting list ready to be matched to a mentor ("Big") through BBBS. The biggest hurdles of potential mentors are the perceived time and expertise required – inspiring the new BBBSA campaign and Merrell's public service announcement.
11. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Executive of King County, Dow Constantine, declare Saturday, September 16 "Open Science Day" in honor of Allen Institute's 20th Anniversary
    Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen founded the Allen Institute in 2003 with open science as a core principle. Since its inception, the Institute has openly shared its knowledge, data, and tools, to advance research around the globe—accelerating discovery and helping the global scientific community uncover new insights into human biology.

Read more of the latest policy-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNpolicy and @prnedu on Twitter.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

• Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.
• Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.
• Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.
• Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 440,000 newsrooms, websites, direct feeds, journalists and influencers and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire