About Clever Crazes For Kids

Clever Crazes for Kids (CCK) is a project of a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization. Clever Crazes for Kids focuses on children (ages 6 through 12) and aspires to:

  1. Teach the perils of "overeating" (childhood obesity) and leverage the benefits of healthy nutrition,
  2. Teach the benefits of exercise and physical activity,
  3. Teach "living green" and improving the sustainability of the planet, and
  4. Teach character and self-esteem building behavior and discourage bullying.
  5. Enable Kids to compete for prizes to benefit their schools!

CLEVER CRAZES FOR KIDS' MISSION

The Mission of Clever Crazes for Kids is to build healthy lives with a primary focus on nutrition, physical activity, self-esteem and respect for our earth. We have engaged "edu-tainment" principles. We believe that there is a golden thread that weaves through our four main educational areas of nutrition, physical activity, self-esteem/bullying, and environmental sustainability. These objectives enable us to make healthy living a fun part of every-day life for young people.

MORE GREAT NEWS!!!

Our Web site (www.clevercrazes.com) is an outstanding and creative way for kids to be educated and entertained "edu-tained." We have created a School Competition portal on our Web site. This school competition will allow kids to help their schools win prizes. The prizes will give schools the opportunity to acquire the supplies and equipment that we know they so dearly need. There will be a way for the students to chart increased physical activity and changes in healthy eating, tracking both students' personal bests and aggregate data for school competitions. Parents will be required to give permission for kids to participate on this site. There will be an ethics pledge that the kids will sign as they will be entering data about their healthy changes. The Web site games and challenges are designed to show the kids how eating the right foods in the right portions and how physical activities such as walking, biking, sports, jumping rope, etc. can make a terrific impact on their physical and mental health. They will also experience how positive feelings about themselves, as well as celebrating the differences and sharing the similarities of their friends, can be totally cool! There are also "Go Green" challenges for which the players can earn points. 

ABOUT OUR FOUNDER

The magic of Clever Crazes for Kids didn't come out of a hat. Dianne Dunkelman was inspired to create a project that responded to thousands of requests from the women who attended Speaking of Women's Health (SWH) conferences across the country. They asked her to address the issue of helping our kids live healthier lives. At SWH, women had a lot of fun while learning how to be healthier. They were so inspired to make healthy changes that also lifted their zest for life that they said, "let's do the same thing for our kids!" Please click here to read more.

OUR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

We have an Advisory Committee consisting of physicians, researchers, medical professors, care givers, child psychologists, elementary teachers, school superintendents, principals, and other professionals who play an active role in helping us achieve our mission. Please click here to meet our Advisory Committee.

GAMING ON THE SITE

We, like you, are aware that interactive gaming is the rage with young people. Through our research, we understand the importance of meeting kids on their own terms. The games will tie into our "edu-tainment" principles.

Nutrition and Physical Activity - The facts and games on our Web site are designed to teach the kids to achieve a balanced, healthy diet by eating the right food in the right portions. We also include physical activity as a part of a total healthy lifestyle. On our web site you will see lots of fun ways that kids can make a healthy lifestyle an important element in their every-day lives.

Self Esteem and Bullying - Across all socio-economic environments, self-esteem and bullying are serious issues. We aim to help young people value themselves and each other through the celebration of differences and shared similarities. If a child has self-confidence and values her/himself, he/she is far more likely to eat right and be physically active on the playground, in the neighborhood, and on the sports field. The added benefit is that if they learn to value other kids, not bullying or being verbally abusive, all of the kids will be more active. We believe we can make health "COOL!"

Go Green - Just as kids need to take good care of their bodies and health, they also need to take care of the health of our planet. And, the earlier kids learn about the importance of protecting the environment by Recycling, Reusing and Rethinking, the more likely they are to be good environmentalists throughout their lives. Our fun interactive games teach kids about recycling making them aware of the many things they see and use every day that can actually be recycled, reused or substituted with better choices. Sharing your concern and care about our environment, as well as your commitment to "personal sustainability" through healthy eating and physical activities, will create a lifelong, positive influence on the young people in your life.

WHEN KIDS ENTER THE SITE

When kids enter the site they will be introduced to interactive games about our 4 key areas. The games are presented by avatars (animated characters) designed to look and communicate in language that resonates with young people. Further, the characters will model behaviors that are essential to healthy physical, mental and emotional development. These games, led by child-selected avatars, enable the player to learn, play and compete. The avatar that the child selects navigates a world of different environments with the opportunity for the player to earn a score.

You might be interested to know that Clever Crazes for Kids was developed by the leadership that launched Speaking of Women's Health (SWH) across America. The mission of Speaking of Women's Health is "to educate women to make informed decisions about health, well-being, and personal safety for themselves and their families." Clever Crazes for Kids is built on similar principles, but with a total focus upon our young audience.

TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE PRIZES AND CASH REWARDS!

We know that kids (and adults) are motivated by the concept of prizes. Our prizes include an annual total of ten (10) Grand Prizes of $5,000 each, ten (10) Second Place prizes of $3,000 each and ten (10) Third Place prizes of $2,000 each to be given to schools. These prizes will be awarded in five two-month segments during the school year. We know that times are tough and schools have suffered budget cutbacks. It was with this in mind that we developed our prize principle. This principle encourages kids to play the games with the winnings then being given to their school.

This enables the winning children to:
1) understand the experience of contributing to something larger than one's self,
2) demonstrate pride in themselves and their school, and
3) learn the benefit of giving back.

An additional prize opportunity - In each of the 5 two-month segments, an additional Grand Prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the school or non-profit whose employee refers the greatest number of new schools which enroll in the contest during that two-month contest segment. The reason for this prize is to encourage educators to reach the greatest number of kids with this educational opportunity.

PARENTS & TEACHERS

We want you to know that our Clever Crazes for Kids Web site is secure! We invite you to review our Privacy Policy. When your child or student enters our site, he/she is offered an opportunity to play a variety of educational games. These games, built by experts, espouse our "golden thread" that weaves together our four main focus areas of nutrition, physical activity, self-esteem/bullying and environmental sustainability. Like you, we know that kids are more likely to participate when they can earn a score and the score has the possibility of netting a prize for their school.

Our goal is to encourage participation while teaching your children or students that their winnings become part of the greater good. This reinforces our character lessons while modeling the benefits of community involvement and school-spirit. This is a great way to encourage behavioral team-building and sharing. Certainly, the kids will benefit from the knowledge and experience of being part of a mission that contributes to the common good.

We understand the need for privacy and protection of your children and students. The Clever Crazes for Kids site is secure and educational and was created with input from our highly esteemed advisory panel of health and education experts. The site ensures that kids compete for prize money and supplies that schools so dearly need. Participants also sign an ethics pledge to ensure that they model character-building behavior. This ethics pledge is important as kids must enter data about their activities - how many sit-ups, push-ups, etc. that they did.

If your school is a winner, once the school has been notified of the award, its administration can determine, according to their policies, how to best spend the winnings your child or student has brought them.

THE PRIZE PRINCIPLE IS AS FOLLOWS:

There will be five (5) Contest Segments, each approximately two-months long: Aug/Sept, Oct/Nov, Dec/Jan, Feb/March, and April/May.

Two Grand prizes of $5,000 each will be awarded at the end of each two-month Contest Segment:

1) To the school with the highest percentage of students participating. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker will be based upon the highest number of total points scored on the Web site by that school's students. If there is a tie after the highest number of total points scored is determined, the next tie-breaker will be based on the school that had the first student playing a game in that Contest Segment.

2) To the school whose student scores the highest number of individual points on the Web site during that two-month segment. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker will be based upon the highest combined total points scored by that student and by the student at the same school with the other highest number of individual points. If there is a tie after the highest combined total points scored by the two students is determined, the next tie-breaker will be based on the school that had the first student playing a game in that Contest Segment.

Two second place prizes of $3,000 each will be awarded at the end of each two-month Contest Segment:

1) To the school with the second highest percentage of students participating. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker will be based upon the highest number of total points by that school's students. If there is a tie after the highest number of total points scored is determined, the next tie-breaker will be based on the school that had the first student playing a game in that Contest Segment.

2) To the school whose student scores the second highest number of individual points on the Web site during that two-month Contest Segment. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker will be based upon the highest combined total points scored by that student and by the student at the same school with the other highest number of individual points. If there is a tie after the highest combined total points scored by the two students is determined, the next tie-breaker will be based on the school that had the first student playing a game in that Contest Segment.

Two third place prizes of $2,000 each will be awarded at the end of each two-month Contest Segment:

1) To the school with the third highest percentage of students participating. In the event of a tie, the tie breaker will be based upon the highest number of total points scored on the Web site by that school's students. If there is a tie after the highest number of total points scored is determined, the next tie-breaker will be based on the school that had the first student playing a game in that Contest Segment.

2) To the school whose student scores the third highest number of individual points on the Web site. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker will be based upon the highest combined total points scored by that student and by the student at the same school with the other highest number of individual points. If there is a tie after the highest combined total points scored by the two students is determined, the next tie-breaker will be based on the school that had the first student playing a game in that Contest Segment.

ADDITIONAL PRIZE OPPORTUNITY

One additional $5,000 prize will be awarded at the end of each two-month Contest Segment

This prize will be awarded to the school or non-profit whose employee refers the greatest number of new schools which enroll in the contest during each two-month Contest Segment. The reason for this prize is to encourage educators to reach the greatest number of kids with this educational opportunity. This prize could be considered the Third Grand Prize per contest period and is equal in dollar value to the other Grand Prizes described above.

ALL PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO THE NON-PROFIT SCHOOL ENTITY. NO PRIZES WILL BE GIVEN TO INDIVIDUALS. THE AWARD WILL BE MADE PAYABLE TO THE WINNING SCHOOL. SCHOOLS WILL NEED TO FOLLOW THEIR DISTRICT'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES REGARDING THEIR TREASURER'S DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

We are recommending to the school that the prizes be used for school supplies or school equipment designated by the employee who has referred the most schools which have completed their enrollment in the project within the designated two-month contest segment.