Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Jordyn Wieber; Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker to Headline K.I.D.S. Annual Gala

NEW YORK, September 18, 2012--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kids In Distressed Situations, Inc., (K.I.D.S.), announced today Olympic Gold Medalist Jordyn Wieber will be special guest emcee, and, Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker will present the keynote address, at the 27th Anniversary Gala to be held at Cipriani, 42nd Street, in New York City, on Thursday, December 6th.

“We are delighted to have an esteemed list of honorees and guests to help us achieve our goals and enable us to continue help more children in need.”

Honorees who will be receiving awards are:

K.I.D.S. Retailer of the Year Award will be presented to Army & Air Force Exchange Services.
K.I.D.S. Manufacturer of the Year Award will be given to Kahn Lucas. The award will be accepted by Howard Kahn, CEO of Kahn Lucas/Madame Alexander and a member of the Executive Committee of the K.I.D.S. Board of Directors.
Mayor Cory A. Booker will be accepting the K.I.D.S. Agency Partner Award on behalf of Newark Now. A long-time partner of K.I.D.S., Newark Now provides services and programs to more than 15,000 impoverished Newark families.
K.I.D.S. Donor Partner Award will go to the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) and will be accepted by Carter Keithley, President of the Toy Industry Association, Inc.

According to K.I.D.S. chairman, Kevin Burke, “We are delighted to have an esteemed list of honorees and guests to help us achieve our goals and enable us to continue help more children in need.”

To purchase tickets and receive more information, email KIDS_GALA@frontier.com or call 845-758-6403, and visit www.kidsdonations.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE: To speak with David M. Coleman, Interim President of K.I.D.S., or for more information about K.I.D.S., please contact Karen Bromley, The Bromley Group at 212-696-1100

About K.I.D.S.

Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.) was founded in 1985 with the mission of providing new kid-essentials to children and teens who have been impacted by poverty and tragedy. With a network of over 1,000 local partner agencies located in all 50 states and consistently low overhead costs; K.I.D.S. is able to effectively and efficiently deliver products directly to children when and where they need it. Since its inception, K.I.D.S has provided almost 1 billion dollars of new product to help nearly 70 million children. The charity continues to be recognized by Charity Navigator with its highest four star rating. The Chronicle of Philanthropy places K.I.D.S. among the top 2 percent of non-profits in the U.S. and Forbes Magazine ranks the charity 6^th in fundraising efficiency. K.I.D.S. receives both product and financial donations directly from companies, foundations and individuals with 97% of the value of all donations going directly to children and teens in need. To find out more about K.I.D.S., go to www.kidsdonations.org.