{"id":4523,"date":"2019-07-29T15:36:54","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T22:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/?p=4523"},"modified":"2019-07-30T15:38:53","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T22:38:53","slug":"kids-first-needs-your-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/2019\/kids-first-needs-your-help\/","title":{"rendered":"KIDS FIRST! Needs Your Help"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We have launched our annual crowd-funding campaign with a goal of $15,000 to support our KIDS FIRST! Film Critic program. I want to share with you something amazing. We raised 25% of our goal in the first 5 days and the majority of the donors are our youth reporters themselves<\/strong>, as well as their parents. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One young\nreporter donated from funds earned by dog sitting. That shows you how much they\nappreciate being a KIDS FIRST! reporter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, we still have $10,000 more to raise and today, we are writing to ask you to make a donation of any amount to help cover the cost of our coaches, editors, technical personnel and equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To inspire\nyou, take a look at what some of our reporters and their parents say about KIDS\nFIRST!  And below that, what the industry\nleader have to say about us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve had an amazing experience with KID FIRST!\nso far. I absolutely love it! I remember when I first joined. I was nervous,\nbut everyone was super welcoming. Ranny is extremely kind to everyone. I also\nlove that it doesn’t take up school time; so there’s always time for movies,\ninterviews, radio shows and school. Actually, being part of KIDS FIRST! helps\nme develop my critical skills in a different way from my regular classes. I\nlove the feeling of being part of something that is helpful and inspiring for other\nkids. Doing interviews, meeting amazing people I admire and reviewing films is\nfun and also a challenge. All my KIDS FIRST! peers have different personalities\nand we are all free to be ourselves. KIDS FIRST! has a special place in my\nheart. Zoe Cannella, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found KIDS FIRST! by online research and never\nimagined it was going to be a total life-changing experience for my daughter.\nAfter a whole year, KIDS FIRST! is not just a way of living for us and is a\ngreat experience for all the other kids that are part of this organization. As\na media member, I understand the hard work required to be a film journalist and\nto work in the entertainment industry. I’m grateful that Ranny gave us such a\nwarm welcome. We share our love for films and she encourages us everyday to be\nbetter. Mariana Medina Cannella, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic parent <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thank you doesn\u2019t even\nbegin to describe how thankful Nathalia and I are. What an amazing experience\nKIDS FIRST! has been for us. I highly recommend KIDS FIRST! to others\ninterested in becoming a film critics. My daughter Nathalia\u2019s written and\noral communication has developed and continues to evolve, with help from the\nKIDS FIRST! staff. Their training program has provided Nathalia the necessary\ntools to help her articulate her views, share and exchange her impressions and\nhave fun while learning. Thank you Ranny – How do you do it all!? You are\ntruly a Superhero. You are simply AMAZING! We have truly learned so\nmuch from you. Thank you for the prompt responses via email, text and phone.\nYou are always a phone call away! Thank you for making it all happen for my\ndaughter. Connie Chavarria & Nathalia Jackson <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I want\nto give KIDS FIRST! a shout out, as it’s been four years now that our daughter,\nAbigail has been a KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. We see tremendous growth in\nAbigail’s reporting, particularly in being more articulate and poised. Some of\nher highlights \u2013 which are many \u2013 include interviewing numerous talented people\nlike Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Kevin Hart, Zooey Deschanel, Weird Al Yankovic, Bella Thorne and many others.<\/strong>\nAttending red carpets and press junkets have been exciting and often, being the\nonly kid reporter among top reporters is pretty cool! Reviewing, reporting and\nbeing invited on the set of shows like Disney Channel\u2019s <\/em>T.O.T.S., Just Roll With It and\nother productions have made Abigail feel she has contributed positively to this\nworld. It has also been really incredible to see Abigail’s reviews published in\nthe Huffington Post and other places. As any parent, we love when our child is\nhappy and feel good about who they are. KIDS FIRST! has been like an extended\nfamily for us and has given Abigail something very special personally and\nprofessionally in her heart. Thank you Ranny for all you do and for giving kids\na voice in this world where kids’ voices matter and can make a difference!\nFondly, David Lewis, Parent <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of\ncourse, we could not do all that we do without the support of the industry\nprofessionals. All the major studios support our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics\nthrough invitations to press screenings, press junkets, red carpets and other\nspecial events including Disney, Fox, Universal, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate, Paramount\nplus NCircle Entertainment, Shout! Factory and Wow Now Entertainment. Most studio\nemployees are not allowed to give KIDS FIRST! a letter of support, but some\nhave which you can see below as well as the terrific PR people who represent\nthe studios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI like working with the KIDS FIRST! reporters. I have\nworked with them for some time- they do their research, are pleasant to be\naround and conduct good interviews. I hope to see KIDS FIRST! continue to grow\nand look forward to working with them again.\u201d Alan Meier, Paramount Home\nEntertainment<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKIDS FIRST! is an organization I wish I knew about sooner!\nEach young reporter astonishes me in the best way! They are all wildly\nintelligent, impressively polite, timely, and fun to be around! Kids and teens\ndeserve more credit and KIDS FIRST! has made me excited for the future. I know\neach reporter will go far in any industry they desire!\u201d \u2013 Megan McRae, Family\nPublicity, TeamClick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The KIDS FIRST! team does an outstanding job with promoting\nour content through all of their online platforms, banner ads and social media\noutreach.  I am very pleased with the lift in monthly impressions that\nNCircle receives as a result of the focused effort from KIDS FIRST! Mary Flynn,\nVP Sales, Content and Acquisitions, NCircle Entertainment <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We absolutely love\nworking with KIDS FIRST! and their youth reporters. They are always reliable\nand professional and also steal the show (in a good way!) at our junkets and\nevents. The entire KIDS FIRST! team has been a joy to work with for years, and\nit is so important to us to be able to engage directly with our audience for\nthese films. Plus, they have reporters all over the country!” – Mandy\nRodgers, VP, Client Services – Think Jam <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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