Operation Kids Presents $100,000 TO 'OK Charity' 100% For Kids At Press Conference Donation Represents Partial Proceeds From Recent Operation Kids' Lifetime Achievement Award Gala

SALT LAKE CITY, UT June 10, 2004 -- Major League Baseball legend Dale Murphy presented a check for $100,000 to 100% For Kids at a press conference in the science lab at Bennion Elementary at 1:30pm on Wednesday, June 9 on behalf of Operation Kids.

The donation represented partial proceeds from the inaugural Operation Kids' Lifetime Achievement Award, which was held at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City on April 16, and honored Senator Orrin Hatch for his career spent in service to the "Whole Child."

Operation Kids also welcomed 100% For Kids as an "OK Charity" at the press conference, meaning Operation Kids has been through the books and operations of 100% For Kids and found it efficient in its operations, effective in its programs, and worthy of the public's and Operation Kids' support. It also means Operation Kids will add 100% For Kids to the list of OK Charities for which it fundraises.

100% For Kids, headquartered in Salt Lake City, joins other OK Charities including the Children's Organ Transplant Association, the National McGruff House Network, Christmas Box House, The Forever Young Foundation, and Best Buddies.

"Our mission is to help the ‘Whole Child,'" says Kent Norton, CEO of Operation Kids, "and that includes education. You don't have to read many headlines these days to see that there is a crisis in funding for children's education. Because every cent that goes to 100% For Kids ends up in Utah classrooms and is put to use where classroom teachers see the most need, 100% For Kids handily meets our criteria for effective and efficient operations."

"Not a day goes by that a grateful teacher doesn't tell me that the funding they received from 100% For Kids helped them do something in their classroom that he or she couldn't have done without it," says Paula Julander, the executive director of 100% For Kids. "All of this $100,000 gift from Operation Kids will go to Utah classrooms and it will go a long way. Because in addition to being dedicated, Utah teachers are also exceptionally resourceful."

The money was generated at the inaugural Operation Kids Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored America First Credit Union and XanGo. The gala featured performances by Michael Bolton and Donny Osmond, as well as moving tributes by former Utah Senator Jake Garn and, via videotape, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actors Patricia Heaton and Henry Winkler, Senator Ted Kennedy, and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson.

"I think sometimes people leave these events after having had a wonderful time," says Rick Larsen, president of Operation Kids, "and wonder what happened to the money raised that night. In the weeks following the event we've presented a check for $50,000 to the National McGruff House Network and another $50,000 to Best Buddies and now this $100,000 to 100% For Kids. And more is still to come."

About 100% For Kids: 100% For Kids Credit Union Education Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to teachers and schools across Utah. One hundred percent of all donations made to 100% For Kids reach Utah classrooms; not one cent is spent on administrative costs. To make a donation, please contact: Foundation Coordinator, 1805 S. Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City, Utah 84104, (801) 972-3400 or visit: www.100percentforkids.org.

About Operation Kids: Operation Kids is a 501(c)(3) public charity whose mission is to serve the needs of the Whole Child… their education, safety, environment, health, welfare and well being… by supporting a diverse group of effective and deserving children's charities with funds and other resources. Operation Kids reviews the operational efficiency and program effectiveness of noteworthy charities. Charities that serve children and which meet its stringent proprietary criteria are branded with the OK mark, and are deemed eligible to receive funds and other resources from Operation Kids' fundraising efforts. Visit www.operationkids.org to learn more.



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