Palm Desert, Calif. – June 10, 2004 – The PoliteChild announced today that it is assisting James E. Carter Elementary School in Palm Desert raise money the school needs to be able to offer social skills and character education programs. The PoliteChild has secured the services of nationally renowned benefit auctioneer and fundraiser Jay Fiske who will be the emcee at an underwriting reception at Carter Elementary on June 15th.

"This event is one of the ways we can help schools who are would like to offer PoliteChild programs to their students find a way to fund them,” Corinne Gregory, PoliteChild’s President and Founder stated. “When a school is committed to developing social skills in their students as a way of decreasing discipline issues and increasing their students’ chances of future success, we tell them that finding the money is the easy part.”

The underwriting event at Carter Elementary comes on the heels of a glowing report on the effectiveness of PoliteChild programs by Desert Sands Unified School District’s top administrators at the latest Board meeting. The report was supplemented by detailed information from administrators and teachers about the successful year-long pilot of PoliteChild at Dr. Carreon Academy, the newest magnet school in the District. Carter Elementary is only one of the several schools within Desert Sands Unified that will be implementing PoliteChild’s social skills and character education courses for the next school year.

The purpose of Tuesday evening’s event will be to secure commitments from parents and local businesses to help defray the cost of PoliteChild programs at Carter. Many schools are able to use funding sources such as Title I to pay for PoliteChild courses, but Carter Elementary isn’t eligible for Title I funds because of its student and family demographics. Jay Fiske, founder of Northwest Benefit Auctions (web site), president of MaestroSoft (web site) and emcee for the Carter event, is known for his ability to help not-for-profit organizations meet and substantially exceed their fundraising goals year after year with an enjoyable, engaging style that makes his participants feel good about funds they have pledged. While Mr. Fiske typically supports benefit auctions and golf tournaments, this underwriting party is another example of the types of events his companies can support to help organizations acquire vital funding.

The underwriting event and hors d’oeuvre reception will be held at Carter Elementary from 7-8:30pm at the school and is open to the public. Individuals or companies wishing to learn more about the PoliteChild programs, its success in the Desert or beyond, or wanting to learn more about how they might fund PoliteChild or similar causes are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Carter Elementary at (760) 862-4375 or The PoliteChild at (760) 772-8886.

About The PoliteChild, Inc. The PoliteChild is the leading program dedicated to developing excellent social skills in children of all ages — from toddlers to teens — by building solid foundations for learning and using proper social behavior, good manners, and etiquette through its licensed curricula and managed classes. The goal of The PoliteChild is to help parents, educators, and others develop young people with strong self-esteem and confidence, and are socially comfortable and proficient in handling a large variety of social interactions and situations. The company is headquartered in Woodinville, WA, with a second main office in Palm Desert, CA. For more about The PoliteChild, visit the company website at www.politechild.com.

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