CHUTES AND LADDERS®: THE GOOD GARDEN EDITION, TEACHES KIDS HOW TO COMBAT GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

United States of America -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Oct 19, 2011 -- BOSTON, MA, October 19, 2011 – Today, students in the generationOn Kids Care Club at Edward Everett elementary school in Dorchester, MA played a new board game, “Chutes and Ladders®: The Good Garden Edition,” to celebrate its launch in conjunction with National Food Day (October 24th). Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) and education nonprofit One Hen, Inc. teamed up to create a special edition of the classic board game that encourages kids, through play, to learn more about the global food crisis and how they can help. The games, based on the book The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough from Kids Can Press’s CitizenKid™ collection, which will not be sold in stores, have been donated by Hasbro and are only available for a limited time. One Hen, Inc. is providing 4,000 copies of the game free of charge (excluding shipping) to educators across the U.S. who registered for the program at www.thegoodgarden.org.

In the game, which is based on simple tools and techniques of sustainable agriculture, players take on the role of small-scale farmers moving from hunger to having enough. The farmers climb “ladders” toward food security by acquiring land rights, crop insurance, agricultural training, fair loans better seeds or an additional farm animal. Meanwhile, the farmers’ “chutes” represent drought, soil erosion, insect infestation, insufficient credit and loss of land, which can set back hard-won gains.

“The goal of the Good Garden program and “Chutes and Ladders®: The Good Garden Edition” game is to reach classrooms with the message that kids can make a difference and empower them to take action in their communities and abroad,” said Amma Sefa-Dedeh, One Hen Executive Director. "All One Hen programs are built around a key global issue and are designed to inspire kids to four values: financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back.”

Teacher Julie White, volunteer leader of Edward Everett’s generationOn Kids Care Club, and her students participated in the development of the game last spring with the teams at Hasbro and One Hen. Together, they drew on the inspiration of The Good Garden book, as well as lesson plans and resources found on thegoodgarden.org, to incorporate elements such as composting, terracing and natural insect repellants, like marigolds. In late May, White’s students planted their own school garden, effectively translating their learning into action. The students also broke ground at the Saint Ambrose Family Inn in Dorchester, MA to build a “Three Sisters” vegetable garden of corn, beans and squash, as well as an herb and radish patch for the shelter’s families and children, who also took part in the project. Over the summer and early fall, shelter residents harvested together with the children at Edward Everett.

Said teacher Julie White: “I am a firm believer in helping others to grow their own food. Involvement with the Good Garden Game also helped to educate the students about the global affect of food shortage and what they can do to help to eradicate the problem. After we helped shelter families plant a garden, one of my student stated, ‘It is such a great feeling to give back in such a small way; it makes a big difference in other people’s lives.’”

The Chutes and Ladders®: The Good Garden Edition game is part of One Hen’s Good Garden Enrichment Program. Elementary schools are invited to register for the free program and game at www.thegoodgarden.org.

"It’s exciting to bring these critical lessons to life through play using our classic Chutes and Ladders game,” said Karen Davis, Vice President of Community Relations at Hasbro, Inc. “Educating and empowering students to make a difference in the fight against hunger is important to us and we’re happy to help One Hen and the Good Garden enrichment program, do that with this game.”


About One Hen, Inc.
To date, over 17,300 students and educators from 142 countries and across the U.S. are using One Hen resources in schools, after schools and summer schools. Nonprofit, One Hen, Inc., founded in 2009, uses microfinance principles to teach hands-on entrepreneurship and financial literacy with a focus on disadvantaged communities. It equips educators with stories, interactive media and grades 3-to-8 lesson plans and curriculum to inspire kids to four values: financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back, all the while teaching basic business skills. One Hen’s Good Garden: Food Security for Kids module extends this learning to the context of agricultural enterprise. Our mission is to empower all kids to become social entrepreneurs, who make a difference for themselves and the world. Each of our programs, One Hen: Microfinance for Kids and The Good Garden: Food Security for Kids, introduce a compelling social issue, around which we provide flexible curriculum resources, including lesson plans, interactive games, teacher manuals, student workbooks and hands on projects. More information at www.oneheninc.org



About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Hasbro’s philanthropic work strives to bring “the sparkle of Hope, the joy of Play and the power of Service” into the lives of the children who need it most through the Hasbro Children’s Fund and other initiatives aimed to help children worldwide. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at www.hasbro.com. © 2011 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


About generationOn Kids Care Club
GenerationOn Kids Care Clubs is a program of generationOn, a global youth service movement that ignites the power of all kids to make their mark on the world. As the new youth division of Points of Light Institute, generationOn brings together the nation’s leading youth service organizations under one umbrella with a mission to inspire, equip, and mobilize youth to take action that changes the world and themselves through service. For more information, please visit www.generatioon.org.

About Kids Can Press
Kids Can Press is the largest Canadian-owned children's publisher, with an award-winning list of over 600 picture books, non-fiction and fiction titles for toddlers to young adults, including Franklin the Turtle, the single most successful publishing franchise in the history of Canadian publishing, which has sold over 65 million books in more than 30 languages around the world. Kids Can Press is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children’s book publishing and children’s animation. The Company’s multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada), CosmoTV, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW AM 980, 99.3 The FOX, Country 105, 630 CHED, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

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One Hen, Inc.
Karen Schultz
http://www.oneheninc.org