Web-Wise Kids

WEB WISE KIDS, ESA FOUNDATION AND CALIFORNIA STATE PTA
HELP MAKE TECHNOLOGY SAFER FOR CALIFORNIA’S CHILDREN
Organizations Partner to Provide Parents with the Resources to Keep Kids Safe Online

SANTA ANA, CA - February 12, 2008—Web Wise Kids and the ESA Foundation today announced a joint effort with the California State PTA designed to make California’s children safer online. The initiative, funded by a grant from the ESA foundation will provide WIRED WITH WISDOM, a one-of-a-kind Internet safety education program to the parent members of the California State PTA.

“We believe ‘Wisdom Begins With You’ and we know that it is critical that parents play an active role in their kids’ safety while online,” said Judi Westberg Warren, president of Web Wise Kids. “We are grateful to the ESA Foundation to be able to provide this important educational tool to California parents empowering them to keep their children secure.”

Today’s culture bombards families with new parenting challenges in the field of technology. Making even basic decisions about the family’s computer and Internet usage can be quite a hurdle for parents whose kids are often more Internet-savvy than they are. The need to educate parents is critical and WIRED WITH WISDOM helps to do just that.

WIRED WITH WISDOM is an online, interactive safety program designed for busy parents. The program is comprised of five independent learning segments each of which can be completed in less than 20 minutes. WIRED WITH WISDOM addresses a variety of online issues including: social networking, personal Websites, the World Wide Web, chat rooms, instant messaging, email, cell phone dangers, cyber bullying and emerging technology. The program is being made available to parent members of the California PTA online so they can access it anytime and anywhere.

“The California State PTA works to prevent, control, or eliminate hazards to the health, safety and well-being of all children and youth. We are grateful to Web Wise Kids, and their sponsor for this project, the Entertainment Software Association Foundation, for providing California PTA members cost-free access to WIRED WITH WISDOM to help them protect and guide their children in the careful and proper use of the Internet”, said Kathy Moffat, Vice President for Community Concerns for the California State PTA.

WIRED WITH WISDOM has been uniquely designed to provide parents, teachers, law enforcement officers and youth leaders with useful information and solutions related to the problems faced by today’s e-generation. The program is comprehensive without being complex and the format is attractive and easy to navigate so that even the least Internet-savvy adult can enjoy learning.

“The ESA Foundation is proud to partner with Web Wise Kids and the California State PTA to make the Internet safer for youngsters,” said _________ ESA. “The entertainment software industry is committed to keeping kids safe while using today’s technology through educating parents about resources such as WIRED WITH WISDOM and the ESRB Ratings.”


About Web Wise Kids
Web Wise Kids (WWK), established in 2000 is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization that receives partial funding from the U.S. Congress through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs. WWK is dedicated to empowering today’s youth to make wise choices online and specializes in providing easy to use, school-approved Internet safety education for youth ages 11 to 16. Today’s e-generation is taught valuable lessons in their own medium using computer games with high tech simulations based on real life criminal cases. For more information about Web Wise Kids please visit www.webwisekids.org.

Contact:
Mary Davis Dan Hewitt
Web Wise Kids ESA Foundation
714.435.2885 ext. 204 202.223.2400
maryd@webwisekids.org dhewitt@theESA.com