ABC FAMILY AND DONORSCHOOSE.ORG JOIN FORCES TO LAUNCH "BRIGHT STUDENTS, BIG IDEAS!" CAMPAIGN

For the First Time, Students Will Be Able to Submit Projects for Funding on DonorsChoose.org

ABC Family to Fund 50 Percent of Each Project (Up To $100,000 in Total Funding)

ABC Family is joining forces with DonorsChoose.org on the "Bright Student, Big Ideas!" campaign, www.ABCFamily.com/BrightStudents. For the first time ever, public school students in grades 9-12 will be able to work with their teachers to submit a project for funding. ABC Family will "Double Your Impact," providing 50 percent of the project funding (up to $100,000 in total funding).

"ABC Family believes that every student can have a Big Idea, and we want to be a part of making those ideas a reality," said Michael Riley, president ABC Family. "DonorsChoose.org, with its innovative micro-financing model, is the perfect platform to help us support students in the pursuit of the ideas that are most important to them. It is powerful to conceive an idea, work to make it happen and then see it come to fruition, and we want to be a part of empowering students to turn their Big Ideas into action."

"Our partnership with ABC Family will help bring hundreds of innovative and inspiring ideas to life," said Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, "As a former teacher, I understand the importance of keeping students engaged and encouraging leadership development, the impact of which will be felt by the benefitting schools and communities for years to come."

Whether supplying 15 copies of To Kill a Mockingbird for an 8th grade class in the Bronx, microscopes for a 7th grade science experiment in Detroit, or a field trip for a Baltimore history class to visit the Supreme Court in session, DonorsChoose.org visitors have helped fund - largely through micro-donations of $5, $15 and $20 - more than 200,000 teacher projects that served over 5 million students throughout the U.S., mostly in poverty stricken areas.

Now, with "Bright Students, Big Ideas" campaign on ABCFamily.com, students can take on a more active role. Here's how it works:

· Step One: The student shares an idea for his/her school with a teacher (teacher must be a full-time public school teacher). Students can be as creative as they like, as long as the initiative enriches the class, school or his/or her development. For instance, projects could range from creating an anti-bullying video to hosting a mock trial on an important issue facing students or even a beach clean-up or the creation of an organic garden to help the environment.

· Step Two: Teacher submits the idea on the DonorsChoose.org website. Submissions will describe how student(s) came up with the idea for the project, how many students are involved, a request for project materials ranging from $100 to $1,300, and a description of how the teacher will work with them to develop it. All submissions have to include the keyword "ABC Family" in the title field in order to qualify for funding from ABC Family.

· Step Three: Once the project request meets the necessary requirements, ABC Family automatically donates 50 percent of the total amount needed (up to $100,000).

· Step Four: Once the project is fully funded, DonorsChoose.org will send the teacher and student all of the materials they need to bring the idea to life.

· Step Five: Together the student and the teacher put the student's idea into action. Photos and thank you notes are then sent to the donors who helped make it a reality.

About ABC Family:

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 97 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today's relationships - told with a mix of diversity, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a combination of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas" ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

About DonorsChoose.org:

Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org (www.donorschoose.org) is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers post requests, and then individuals can browse and fund projects that speak to them. After completing a project, the donor hears back from the classroom they supported in the form of photographs and teacher thank-you letters. To date, 201,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to secure funding for $92 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn. Through DonorsChoose.org, individuals from all walks of life have helped 5.5 million students.