let 'em eat GI Joe

John Verity verity at technologicp.com
Mon Oct 15 14:00:50 CDT 2001


just hope they remember to send the batteries ....


---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
Date:        10/15/01 2:14 PM

    APL's 'Boomerang Box(R)' Educational Program Teams Up With Toys 'R' Us
          And CARE to Launch Unique Worldwide Educational Challenge

Students Guess International Mystery Destination for Donated Toys and 
Learning
     Materials Traveling in 40-Foot Container; in Lieu of Prizes, Winning
            Classrooms Choose Charities to Receive Cash Donations

    OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- School children wondering 
what
they can do to help those in need can now become involved in a project
-- growing out of an award-winning, Internet-based educational program -- 
that
will deliver $500,000 of toys and educational materials to a developing
country.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011015/SFM074 )
    The Boomerang Box(R), a 40-foot cargo container decorated with 
colorful
artwork done by children, is about to begin a new adventure focused on how
people help other people in time of need. The project is sponsored by 
global
container-transportation company APL. The adventure is called the "Great 
Toy
Challenge," and will run from October 15 through November 21.
    The Boomerang Box will be loaded in mid-November with toys and 
learning
materials donated by Toys "R" Us valued at $500,000, and will be shipped 
to a
mystery destination, where the toys will be distributed to needy children 
by
international relief organization CARE. Participating classrooms will be 
able
to use their geography skills to guess the mystery destination, and will 
have
a chance to win a cash donation from APL for the charity of their choice.
    Beginning this week, students around the world can log on to
www.apl.com/boomerangbox and guess the mystery destination by deciphering 
the
clues that are posted on the Boomerang Box Great Toy Challenge link. 
Teachers
may send in their classrooms' guess via the Internet only. The web site 
also
features a wealth of curriculum materials on geography, trade, and
international relief.
    "International trade helps unite countries around the world," said
Ed Aldridge, APL's president for the Americas. "We think it's vital that
school children understand the role that trade and international relief
efforts play in our lives." Although planning for the Great Toy Challenge 
was
underway early in the year, Aldridge noted that the project took on even 
more
meaning after recent events.
    "The partnership between companies and organizations in the Great Toy
Challenge project is just one of many such collaborations," Aldridge
continued. "We are deeply appreciative of Toys "R" Us and CARE for their
support."
    According to Aldridge, APL will make donations of $500 each to local,
national or international charity or relief organizations on behalf of
ten classrooms that correctly guess the container's mystery destination.
Winning classrooms will nominate the charities.
    The toy shipment bound for the mystery country contains educational 
and
learning materials including puzzles, crayons, markers, art paper, 
plastic and
wooden blocks, toddler learning toys, games and playground-type items
including basketball hoops, soccer goals and jump ropes. "Toys "R" Us is
pleased to offer a terrific opportunity for children to participate in a 
fun
event while contributing to the well-being of other children around the
world," said Michael Jacobs, Vice President of World Wide Transportation.
    CARE, which has agreed to distribute the special shipment, reaches 
out to
people whose lives are devastated by emergencies or poverty and helps them
survive and improve their lives. CARE focuses its approach at the family 
and
community levels. "Children are the first to be hurt by poverty or 
tragedy,"
said Dr. Marshall Burke, Vice President, CARE. "These toys and learning
materials will help us bring hope to children in a country that has 
suffered
from war and natural disasters. They will be part of our efforts to 
rebuild
schools and help children prepare for a promising future. In the process,
students from all over the world will be able to learn how they can help
others."

    About the Boomerang Box Program
    Over the last four years, the 40-foot Boomerang Box has traveled over
140,000 miles teaching young people around the world about global trade,
transportation, geography and the people and customs of other lands. The 
name
"Boomerang Box" refers to the way in which raw materials, parts and 
finished
goods return from one continent to another through international trade.
Students in classrooms around the world track the Boomerang Box via the
Internet (www.apl.com/boomerangbox) as part of APL's interactive learning
program.
    The program's easy-to-use curriculum is packaged in three levels for
students of ages 7 to 17. The program is currently in use at more than
200 schools worldwide, and the Web site averages 1,000 "hits" per month. 
APL
has received email communications about the Boomerang Box from teachers 
and
students on every continent and in 35 U.S. states.
    In addition to the 40-foot Boomerang Box container, which students can
track around the world, there is a 20-foot version known as Boomerang Box
Junior; it is a virtual classroom that travels to participating schools.
    The Boomerang Box Web site allows teachers and school children to 
track
the container's movements around the world and learn about numerous 
aspects of
international trade, logistics and transportation.
    Cargoes carried in the Boomerang Box have included grain shipped for 
CARE
from the U.S. to India; a decorative pavilion transported from Chongquing,
China for the Chinese Garden in Seattle, Washington; almonds from 
California
to Nhava Sheva, India; and computer monitors sent from Korea to Hamburg,
Germany; among many other shipments.

    About APL -- APL (www.apl.com) provides customers around the world 
with
container transportation services through a network combining high-quality
intermodal operations with state-of-the-art information technology. APL 
is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, a global
transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related
businesses.

    About CARE -- CARE (www.care.org) is one of the world's largest 
private
international relief and development organizations. Founded in the 
aftermath
of World War II, CARE enabled Americans to send more than 100 million CARE
Packages(R) to survivors of the conflict in Europe and Asia. CARE has 
become a
leader in sustainable development and emergency aid, reaching tens of 
millions
of people each year in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and
Latin America. For more than 50 years now, CARE has been a vehicle of 
American
generosity abroad.

    About Toys "R" Us -- (www.inc.toysrus.com) The world's leading 
resource
for kids, families and fun currently operates 1,584 stores:  704 toy 
stores in
the United States, 494 international toy stores, including franchise 
stores,
196 Kids "R" Us children's clothing stores, 150 Babies "R" Us stores and
40 Imaginarium stores. The company also has Internet sites at 
www.toysrus.com,
www.babiesrus.com and www.imaginarium.com.

                     MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here
               http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X87886817

SOURCE  APL
    -0-                             10/15/2001
    /CONTACT:  John Pachtner of APL, +1-510-272-7208, or
john_pachtner at apl.com/
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011015/SFM074
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             NEWSdesk:  http://www.newsdesk.com
             PRN Photo Desk, 1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840/
    /Web site:  http://www.toysrus.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.babiesrus.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.imaginarium.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.inc.toysrus.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.care.org/
    /Web site:  http://www.apl.com/


----------------- End Forwarded Message -----------------

John______________________________________________________________
                            J W Verity   TECHNOLOGIC PARTNERS, NYC
                                         212-343-1900 x258




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