Local Event Gets Global Attention

Oct. 15, 2012 - PRLog -- On October 27, 2012, from 10AM to 4PM, 50 "heroes" from 11 states and 3 countries will descend on the center court of the Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Maryland. These heroes are all children from the Kids Are Heroes® website (see http://www.kidsareheroes.org) who give back to their communities without any interest in self-recognition.

This is the 5th year that the FSK Mall and Kids Are Heroes have jointly hosted this event in order to educate attendees about how much impact kids can really have and to encourage them to join in the efforts. Each hero will have a table that people can approach and learn about what each child is doing. Several of the heroes will be giving speeches throughout the day. The "Oakdale Owls", a local elementary school choir, will make their fourth appearance as they use their singing talents to inspire the crowd.

This being the fifth year the organizers wanted to make a big splash. They did just that by inviting Disney's Allisyn Ashley Arm to be the keynote speaker. Allisyn played Zora Lancaster on the "Sonny with a Chance" and "So Random" series. She will talk about some of the heroes' stories as well as her own. She will also be available for a meet-n-greet with her fans afterwards.

Other special events during the day include a performance by recording artist Leify Green, who will debut his new song about "Kids Are Heroes". Bailey Reese, one of the heroes from Florida, will be on hand to show off the Olympic torch she had the honor of carrying this year at the summer Olympics in London. The event concludes with the recognition ceremony for all the heroes. This will be lead by 2011 Teacher of the Year, Michelle Shearer.

Kids Are Heroes Day is sponsored by Kibooku (http://www.kibooku.com) which is a safer social media site for kids aged 6-13. The company is based in Scotland but is partnering with Kids Are Heroes to help them launch their site to the USA. Kibooku was started by a Dad whose daughter was bullied online. Despite not even owning a Facebook account himself, he did some research for better and safer alternatives for his daughters' online presence. Finding nothing that suited him, he created one himself. The two organizations found each other through Twitter. "Social media can pack the whole world into one room, and the fact that we are achieving global recognition makes our partnership that much more likable", said Gabe.

The organization's founder, 13-year-old MaryMargaret O'Neill, will act as emcee for the event. Kids Are Heroes® is a non-profit that empowers, encourages and inspires children to become leaders through volunteerism and community involvement. They do this by showcasing and supporting children who are making a difference through their selfless acts of giving. "We've come quite a long way since that time," says her dad Gabe. "And we plan to take it much further." The website features more than 300 children from 10 countries. Their vision is to continue to promote it on a global scale so they can impact many more families.

The Francis Scott Key Mall is located at 5500 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick, Maryland 21703. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust company.