NCNN and WRAL-TV Support NC Promise Mentoring Campaign

Both the North Carolina News Network and WRAL-TV5 will air public service announcements to help promote the North Carolina Promise campaign, an effort to recruit 40,000 mentors for at-risk youth by the year 2000. The Campaign, which kicked off on January 12, 1999, will work in communities across the state to mobilize North Carolinians to volunteer in school mentoring programs.

The theme of the NC Promise campaign is, "It only takes an hour to change a life," and encourages North Carolinians to volunteer one hour per week to mentor an at-risk child. The message will be spread through public service announcements broadcasted and published throughout the state.

The campaign marks an unprecedented collaboration of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, the North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Association and the North Carolina Press Association. Campaign production and grants for the statewide mentoring programs are supported by a gift of $1 million from the Carolina Pepsi Bottlers as part of Pepsi's 100th anniversary celebration, as well as other in-kind donations from IBM's Global Services organization in RTP, McKinney & Silver of Raleigh, and Ruder Finn, also of Raleigh.

For information, or to get involved in the campaign, call 1-877-SERVE-NC or contact Suzanne Jacovec at (919)783-2804.