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Ereka Vetrini’s Guide to Summertime Fun

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/4K2p1T5ok44 This is the second summer in a row that Americans must be thoughtful when planning family getaways. Whether hitting the road or planning a staycation, most head of households still have safety top of mind. However, being careful doesn’t mean family and friends cannot enjoy some fun in the sun together. As a TV host, Lifestyle Expert, and Working Mom, Ereka Vetrini has figured out a way to balance her career and family time. She has come up with four easy ways to get the party poppin’ and keep it cool as the temperatures heat up over the summer months. STICK WITH THE TRADITIONAL: According to a recent summertime survey, most parents plan on spending more time outside with their families. That’s why Ereka suggests sticking to the tried and true, like beach days, barbeques, and hanging out by the pool. That way families get to spend time together outdoors while being safe and socially distanced from strangers. Before heading out-and-about, Ereka recommends packing up a tote with a new book, games for the kids, and treats the whole family will love. There’s a tasty candy brand crafted in Italy that recently launched in the United States. Fruit-tella Soft Gummies are made with fruit puree as the first ingredient. They come in two flavors, Strawberry & Raspberry and Peach & Mango. These candies are quite flavorful and each one has a fun and playful fruit character shape that makes for the perfect summertime treat. Fruit-tella can be found at CVS stores nationwide. www.us.fruittella.com Instagram: @fruittellaus Twitter: @fruittellaus https://www.facebook.com/Fruittellaus/ GET THE PARTY POPPIN’: Americas’ streaming addiction has only increased during the pandemic and parents are looking for new ways to watch TV programs and movies with their families. Ereka suggests outdoor movie nights. She says setting up a big screen in a backyard can easily do the trick, especially if you add America’s favorite snack. The most popular moviegoers treat, popcorn, just received a major upgrade with the newest innovation in microwave popcorn from Opopop. The secret to this brand’s taste is that each kernel is individually wrapped in exceptional flavors and a perfect mix of ingredients, prior to popping. Opopop comes in six fun flavors, including reimagined classics like Fancy Butter, and uniquely created experiences with Maui Heat, Vanilla Cake Pop, Salted Umami, Cinnalicious, and Chedapeno. Opopop can be purchased at Opopop.com. www.opopop.com Instagram: @opopopco https://www.facebook.com/Opopopco/ CHILL OUT: July is National Ice Cream Month and the perfect time to cool off as we head into those long hot dog days of summer. Ereka says nothing screams summer more than ice cream cake! She suggests keeping it easy with a few pre-made ice cream cakes like the Carvel Confetti Cake and the new Cookie Dough Cake from I Love Ice Cream Cakes. Ereka recommends storing one in the freezer for family barbecues, get-togethers, and pool parties. The Carvel Confetti Cake and new Cookie Dough Cake are available online at ILoveIceCreamCakes.com along with a helpful product locator or at your local grocer and bakery’s freezer section. www.Iloveicecreamcakes.com Instagram: @ILoveIceCreamCakes https://www.facebook.com/ILoveIceCreamCakes/ GRAB GEAR & GO: Many families are road-tripping throughout the summer months and that means children can catch up on reading, summer schooling, or gaming while heading to a destination. As a conscious consumer and parent, Ereka is often concerned about protecting her family’s tech gadgets from cracked screens and other mishaps that happen on-the-go. OtterBox for Kids combines trusted protection from OtterBox with products designed with kids in mind. These easy-to-use cases come in three different colors and offer an EasyGrab case stand to help little hands carry their tablet or easily hang a tablet between head rests. Other gadgets like the OtterBox Kids EasyGrab Mobile Charging & Audio Cable Bundle are available to keep the fun going while vacationing. OtterBox products are available at Verizon and Verizon.com. www.Verizon.com Instagram: @otterbox Twitter: @otterbox https://www.facebook.com/otterbox/ About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

July 16, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Cyvatar Wins Grand Trophy in the Annual Disruptor Awards

Cyvatar

Cyvatar won its second Grand Trophy of the year during the 2021 Disruptor Company Awards. In addition to its Grand Trophy win, the company walked away with a gold award for security services and bronze for security cloud and SaaS. The disruptor awards judges recognize disruptors as highly persistent, mostly beginning from scratch without the constraints of traditionally accepted processes or business models. Instead, they use modern technology and tools to achieve superior end results. The excellence and innovation found in Cyvatar’s cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) offering has been recognized again and again since its debut last fall. The disruptor awards mark Cyvatar’s 17th win in eight months. “Like other disruptors, we do things differently at Cyvatar,” said Cyvatar Co-Founder and Chief Product and Strategy Officer Craig Goodwin. “We’re not hindered by legacy systems or bound by outdated solutions. We confidently face the challenges of providing security solutions that are effortless for our members to use and affordable for them to purchase.” Cyvatar brings the membership economy to cybersecurity with its innovative CSaaS model and a platform that has already become the de facto operating system for today’s security programs. It transforms cybersecurity for its customers and continually meets their ever-evolving business and security requirements. The company was selected from organizations around the world that vied for top honors. Its disruptive, game-changing platform delivers fast, affordable, fully managed security programs for any size business; processes designed to provide outcomes, continuous remediation, and ongoing solution maintenance; and the ability for all of its members to execute their security strategies at speed and scale. Does your organization need award-winning cybersecurity? Find out how Cyvatar can help. About Cyvatar Cyvatar is committed to effortless cybersecurity for everyone. As the industry’s first subscription-based, cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) company, it’s our mission to transform the way the security industry builds, sells, and supports cyber solutions. We empower our members to achieve successful outcomes by providing expert advisors, proven technologies, and a strategic process roadmap to guarantee results that map to their business drivers. Our approach is rooted in proprietary ICARM (installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, maintenance) methodology that delivers smarter, measurable security solutions for superior compliance and cyber-attack protection faster and more efficiently, all at a fixed monthly price. And because we’re a subscription, members can cancel anytime. Cyvatar is a global organization with operations around the world. Begin your journey to security confidence at https://cyvatar.ai/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Details Cyvatar KC Higgins +1 303-434-8163 kc@cyvatar.ai Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

July 13, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

National Education Benefits Administrator Edcor Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Edcor

Edcor is excited to be celebrating its 40 th Anniversary. One of the nation’s largest providers of Education Benefits Administration solutions to employers, Edcor processed nearly $250 million in tuition assistance payments, supporting more than 2 million employees in 2020. However, an enterprise is only as good as the benchmarks it sets and achieves. Edcor’s four decades of accomplishment comes from our ability to develop creative solutions and innovative programs. With acknowledgement to Edcor’s successful past, it is time to march forward to meet the next set of challenges: “Let’s Future Together.” More than a catchphrase or a slogan, “Let’s Future Together” is a call to action — a commitment to expand the impact of education benefits for companies and their employees. It’s a public handshake agreement binding Edcor to its clients and their success. “Needless to say, we are very proud,” said Adrienne L. Way, Edcor owner, President and CEO. “But even as we celebrate this latest milestone, we’re looking ahead, not behind. We believe the best way to celebrate where we’ve been is to use it as a springboard for where we go from here.” Edcor assists clients with their Student Tuition Reimbursement, Tuition Assistance, Student Loan Assistance and Scholarship Program needs by developing programs that are more efficient, less costly and account for the shifting educational landscape — change that began in earnest last year. The education system flipped basically overnight due to the pandemic. Ensuring employees are knowledgeable about how that may impact tuition, reimbursement and loans — present and future — is critical to their long-term success. The crisis was disruptive and mitigating the impact is critical to keeping working adult students on track and, in the process, making a company productive and profitable. More importantly, coming out of the pandemic, the recruitment of new employees — and retention of current workers — is frenzied and highly competitive. The difference between securing a new worker and losing one could very well be the benefits package. Edcor’s approach to Education Benefits Administration is focused on using technology for efficiency, effectiveness and clarity, while our people provide the assurance and insurance our clients get the right programs put in place to meet their needs. In this difficult business climate, that approach is critical to success. “The challenges of education benefit outsourcing and consulting will continue to get more complex with time and Edcor will continue to meet them with new and better solutions,” Way said. “We’ve got four decades of momentum behind us. And you have a world of possibilities in front of you. The way we see it, that’s a solid foundation for success.” About Edcor Edcor, a certified woman-owned business, is the benchmark in education benefits administration. For 40 years, our customized service and software solutions have allowed clients to use education benefits programs, including tuition assistance and student loan assistance, for employee recruiting, retention and development. Additional information can be found at https://www.edcor.com/. Contact Details Joseph Ranck FireStarters Marketing +1 248-425-0409 jranck@firestartersmarketing.com Company Website https://www.edcor.com/

July 13, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Velocity Global acquires Shield GEO in second growth transaction this year

Velocity Global

Company continues to scale leading global work platform Follows acquisition of iWorkGlobal in April Combined company serves more than 1,000 brands and over 7,000 supported employees this year DENVER, July 13, 2021 — Velocity Global continues to scale its leading global work platform with the acquisition of Shield GEO, an established global Employer of Record (EoR) provider. This is Velocity Global’s second acquisition this year, after it acquired iWorkGlobal in April. The company deployed capital from the $100 million growth investment from FFL Partners announced in April to complete the transaction. Terms of the deal were not announced. Velocity Global adds scale to its global work platform that simplifies the employer and employee experience. The platform combines the company’s cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. Users access automated technology as well as partner with a dedicated experience team for individualized solutions and expertise. As the largest global EoR in 185 countries and all 50 United States, Velocity Global manages a client’s workforce by providing in-country and in-state compliance, payroll, and benefits for the supported employees. The company also offers Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors globally. “For the last seven years we built our platform to support how and where work gets done. This now allows us the strategic position to scale up to meet the accelerated demand from the shifting workforce,” said Ben Wright, Velocity Global founder and CEO. “Both sides of the employment equation -- employers and employees -- fundamentally changed in the last 18 months. It’s not just about working from anywhere, it’s about how to recruit, how to retain employees, how to grow revenue, and how to manage a newly empowered work-life balance.” The “future of work” or gig economy is worth $4.5 trillion according to a 2020 report from Staffing Industry Analysts. “Velocity Global’s continued profitable organic growth sets the foundation for further scale through strategic acquisitions,” said Cas Schneller, FFL Managing Partner. “Both of the company’s recent acquisitions were of profitable, strong businesses at a time when scale is needed to match the market. Velocity Global strengthens its leadership position in the future of work.” The combined company serves more than 1,000 brands and over 7,000 supported employees this year. Velocity Global is registered in all 50 United States and continues to grow its footprint to include 50 wholly owned foreign legal entities in the most desired international markets by year’s end. “We share a proud history of organic growth, and now was the time to combine the global reach of Shield GEO with that of Velocity Global, and deliver an even greater experience that the market is demanding,” said Duncan Macintosh, Shield GEO co-founder. “This combination multiplies the growth opportunity for our team.” “We have known Ben and Velocity Global for a long time and we’ve always viewed our industry similarly, especially in terms of how we service our customers and the employees that we support for them,” said Tim Burgess, Shield GEO co-founder. “Delivering a great human-focused customer experience is important to all of us. We are excited by what our combined teams can do together.” Shield GEO is based in Hong Kong with entities in the U.K. and Australia, and a global remote team. The combined company welcomes all 75 Shield GEO employees and is led by Wright under the Velocity Global brand. Burgess and Macintosh will support the integration of Shield GEO into Velocity Global. ABOUT VELOCITY GLOBAL Velocity Global accelerates the future of work beyond borders. Its global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched scale. As the largest global Employer of Record (also known as International PEO) in 185 countries and all 50 United States, more than 1,000 brands rely on Velocity Global to build global teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. The company offers additional services including Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce, and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors. Velocity Global was named a “Leader” in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees in 27 countries. For more information visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details Velocity Global John Hall +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

July 13, 2021 05:30 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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Cyvatar Takes Home Top Prize in 2021 Fortress Awards

Cyvatar

Cyvatar today received more industry accolades as it was named a winner in network security by the Business Intelligence Group for its innovative Cybersecurity-as-a-Service (CSaaS) offering as part of the 2021 Fortress Cybersecurity Awards. The Fortress awards program identifies and rewards the world’s leading companies and products that are working to keep data and electronic assets safe among a growing threat from hackers. “2021 is rapidly becoming the toughest year for cybersecurity professionals and as our reliance on networks continues to accelerate, our identities and data have quickly become global currency, so security is more important than ever,” said Maria Jimenez, chief nominations officer at the Business Intelligence Group. “We are proud to recognize all of our winners and finalists who are on the frontlines of the effort to prepare, defend and respond to this growing threat.” Cyvatar’s proprietary ICARM method guarantees proper installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, and maintenance for every Cyvatar technology solution so that organizations actually achieve better protection and resilience from their investments And because Cyvatar’s method is continuous, it protects against attack vectors that haven’t even surfaced yet. “It’s continued validation of our unique CSaaS model that industry peers recognized Cyvatar again for exceptional leadership and innovation,” said Cyvatar Co-Founder and Chief Product and Strategy Officer Craig Goodwin. “As the first subscription-based CSaaS company to deliver effortless, affordable cybersecurity, we enable our members to protect confidential information with the people, processes, and technology essential to ensure they get value from their security tools, from conception and strategy to implementation and maintenance. No other provider delivers holistic security at price points that work for any size customer and guaranteed value that allows customers to cancel anytime.” Cyvatar CSaaS levels the playing field by democratizing cybersecurity and making the best protection accessible and affordable for every size organization, even if they have no cybersecurity expertise in-house. If your organization needs award-winning cybersecurity, Cyvatar can help. About Cyber Defense Magazine With over 5 Million monthly readers and growing, and thousands of pages of searchable online infosec content, Cyber Defense Magazine is the premier source of IT Security information for B2B and B2G with our sister magazine Cyber Security Magazine for B2C. We are managed and published by and for ethical, honest, passionate information security professionals. Our mission is to share cutting-edge knowledge, real-world stories and awards on the best ideas, products and services in the information technology industry. We deliver electronic magazines every month online for free, and special editions exclusively for the RSA Conferences. CDM is a proud member of the Cyber Defense Media Group. Learn more about us at https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com and visit https://www.cyberdefensetv.com and https://www.cyberdefenseradio.com to see and hear some of the most informative interviews of many of these winning company executives. Join a webinar at https://www.cyberdefensewebinars.com and realize that infosec knowledge is power. About Cyvatar Cyvatar is committed to effortless cybersecurity for everyone. As the industry’s first subscription-based, cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) company, it’s our mission to transform the way the security industry builds, sells, and supports cyber solutions. We empower our members to achieve successful outcomes by providing expert advisors, proven technologies, and a strategic process roadmap to guarantee results that map to their business drivers. Our approach is rooted in proprietary ICARM (installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, maintenance) methodology that delivers smarter, measurable security solutions for superior compliance and cyber-attack protection faster and more efficiently, all at a fixed monthly price. And because we’re a subscription, members can cancel anytime. Cyvatar is headquartered in Irvine, California with locations around the world. Begin your journey to security confidence at CYVATAR.AI and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Details Cyvatar KC Higgins +1 303-434-8163 kc@cyvatar.ai Cyber Defense Magazine April Palanca +18338449468 Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

July 07, 2021 11:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time

‘Forge Ahead’ podcast provides inside look at future of work

Velocity Global

Hosted by Velocity Global founder and CEO Ben Wright Features conversations with forward-thinking business and tech leaders Debut episode with “Shark Tank’s” Robert Herjavec “ Forge Ahead,” a new podcast uniquely focused on the future of work through insights from forward-thinking business leaders, launched today. Hosted by Ben Wright, Velocity Global founder and CEO, “Forge Ahead” explores how the world embraces and overcomes challenges of new ways of working, from remote work to distributed teams. The debut episode is a conversation with Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO of global cybersecurity firm, Herjavec Group, and a lead investor on the Emmy Award-winning show, “Shark Tank.” “Now is the perfect time for these conversations about how people want to work, and how us as business leaders must blaze a new path,” said Herjavec. “My conversation with Ben allowed me to look inward at what I’ve learned. One topic we touched on was that the true driver of remote work is that customers now accept it like never before. Employees have proven able to embrace remote work, and the tech tools have been available, but now that the customer cadence is not disrupted, we’ll never look back.” “In ‘Forge Ahead’ we go beyond the buzzwords and get inside the heads of business leaders who shape the future of work,” said Wright. “Robert is the first of many leaders I am humbled to learn from as listeners get to hear his personal story and how he runs a business.” “Forge Ahead” will release a new episode every two weeks on leading podcast platforms. In subsequent episodes, Wright speaks with thought leaders such as USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” Chris Schembra, and 6-time PGA TOUR champ Billy Horschel. Listeners will hear a mix of personal stories and actionable insights from successful leaders so they are prepared to embrace the future of work. Ben Wright founded Velocity Global in 2014 and applies two decades of experience supporting companies’ global business growth and remote teams. As the largest Employer of Record in 185 countries and all 50 United States, brands rely on Velocity Global’s expertise and global infrastructure to employ a compliant workforce without the cost or complexity of setting up their own foreign legal entities or state registrations. Listen and subscribe to the “Forge Ahead” podcast at forgeaheadpodcast.com, or search for it on leading podcast platforms including Spotify, Google Podcast, and Apple Podcast. ABOUT VELOCITY GLOBAL Velocity Global accelerates the future of work beyond borders. Its platform helps companies compliantly employ distributed teams and expand internationally through best-in-breed technology, global expertise, and scale. As the largest global Employer of Record (also known as International PEO) in 185 countries and all 50 United States, more than 700 brands rely on Velocity Global to build global teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. Named a "Leader" in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall, Velocity Global offers additional services including Immigration, Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce, and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors. Founded in 2014, Velocity Global has hundreds of employees in 16 countries. For more information visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details Velocity Global Eli Rice +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

July 06, 2021 07:02 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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Comcast Establishes 50 WiFi-Connected Lift Zones in Houston and Surrounding Areas

Comcast Houston

As part of its ongoing commitment to help connect low-income families to the Internet so they can fully participate in educational opportunities and the digital economy, Comcast today announced it has equipped 50 locations in Houston and surrounding areas with free WiFi enabled Lift Zones. Working with its network of nonprofit partners, Comcast is providing robust WiFi hotspots in safe spaces designed to help students get online, participate in distance learning and do their homework. This initiative provides free connectivity inside partner community centers for the next three years. “We are proud to partner with community organizations across Houston and surrounding areas and equip them with free internet service to provide safe, fast, and reliable connectivity,” said Ralph Martinez, regional senior vice president, Comcast Houston. “The COVID-19 crisis put many at risk of being left behind, accelerating the need for comprehensive digital equity and Internet adoption programs to support them. We hope these Lift Zones will help those who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to connect to effective distance learning at home.” Each Lift Zone location will be outfitted with a robust WiFi solution, powered by Comcast Business, at no cost. The sites are equipped with a combination of Comcast Business’ award-winning Business Internet, WiFi Pro and SecurityEdge solutions; customized based on the size and unique connectivity needs of each location. Some of the Houston and surrounding area community organizations that have established Lift Zones in their respective facilities include Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, the City of Houston, and the City of Galveston. A full list of Comcast Lift Zones in Houston and surrounding areas, can be found here. Earlier this year, Comcast announced a $1 billion commitment over ten years in continued support of digital equity, including its Lift Zones initiative, which aims to establish WiFi-connected safe spaces in 1,000+ community centers nationwide for students and adults by the end of 2021. Lift Zones complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which has helped connect approximately 10 million low-income people to the Internet at home since 2011, including almost one million Texans. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with over 56 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Comcast Misha McClure +1 832-547-6783 Misha_McClure@cable.comcast.com Company Website https://houston.comcast.com/

July 06, 2021 05:00 AM Central Daylight Time

STEAM Brand Osmo Participates in Ace Presents the Kerry Wood Celebrity Golf Invitational Benefiting Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Makes Product Donation to Hospital

Osmo

Award-winning STEAM brand Osmo participated in the June 28 Ace Presents the Kerry Wood Celebrity Golf Invitational, where its charitable arm, Osmo Cares, gifted its bestselling Creative Kit for iPad to over 200 celebrity golfers and Lurie Children’s Hospital patients’ families. In addition, Osmo Cares gifted 48 Creative Kits for iPad directly to the hospital, for their patients to enjoy. The Celebrity Golf Invitational, which takes place at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, is a key fundraising event for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, raising over $1 million on a single day. This year’s event included high-profile celebrity golfers Kerry Wood, Mark Rypien, Ryan Dempster, Jim McMahon, Toni Kukoc, and many others. ( images ) “We love events that support important organizations that provide life-saving medical services and treatments for children,” says Karen O’Dell, Osmo Director of PR and Osmo Cares. “By providing gifts to participants at this celebrity golf invitational as well as kits to Lurie Children’s Hospital, we hope to bring smiles and joy to many Chicago-area children and families, and provide healthy screen time that inspires kids’ appetite to explore STEAM learning.” Osmo’s combined donations are valued at approximately $18,500. “The Ace team is proud to partner with the award-winning STEAM brand Osmo to raise money for Lurie Children’s hospital in Chicago. Working together with great companies like Osmo to help sick kids and their families is the bedrock of what the Ace Foundation is all about,” stated Kane Calamari, President of the Ace Foundation. Says Susan Ruohonen, EdD, Senior Director of Family Services at Lurie Children’s Hospital, “Through this generous donation, so many children and their families will have this unique opportunity to explore STEAM learning and be inspired through curiosity, creativity and innovation. Thank you for providing this avenue of discovery and imagination for our patients and their families at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.” Osmo’s Creative Kit for iPad, used at home and in classrooms across the U.S., features award-winning games that inspire learning, drawing, creativity, and more. It contains the Osmo Base for iPad, Creative Board, 4 erasable markers, a fuzzy eraser pouch, stackable storage for each game, and three best-selling game apps (Monster, Newton, Masterpiece). Osmo Cares Since 2016, Osmo Cares has made over $600,000 (USD) in product donations to nonprofit and charitable organizations in the U.S., and established over 50 partnerships with family service and autism awareness organizations. Osmo was named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions in 2014; and its Osmo Learning System received the 2021 EdTech Digest Award in the “Curriculum and Instruction Solution” category. In 2018, Osmo received a Best AI-based Solution for Education Award for its proprietary reflective AI technology. About the Ace Hardware Foundation As the official charitable division of Ace Hardware Corporation, the Ace Hardware Foundation helps enhance the vision of being the “Helpful Place” in local communities across the country and around the globe through charitable giving. The Ace Foundation provides support and philanthropic opportunities to its consumers, retail store owners, vendors and team members to give back to local communities through fundraising efforts for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Ace Hardware has been a national partner for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for the last 30 years, raising over $140 million during that time. For more information, visit acehardware.com or newsroom.acehardware.com. About Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. It is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 220,000 children from 48 states and 49 countries. About Osmo Osmo is an award-winning STEAM brand whose products are used in over 50,000 classrooms and 2.5 million homes. It is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination. The company brings physical tools into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence. Founded in 2013 by ex-Google engineers Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, the Osmo Play System fuses digital gameplay and physical interaction to create fun and nutritious play experiences designed for all kids. Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Learn more at playosmo.com. For information about its educational division, Osmo for Schools, visit schools.playosmo.com. Contact Details Carolyn Kamii +1 310-251-0550 carolynkpr@gmail.com Company Website http://www.playosmo.com

June 29, 2021 04:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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Crow Creek Tribal School Teacher to Team with OfficialToken for Cryptocurrency Student Donation

OfficialToken

When Catherine Schmidt was searching for something she could use to demonstrate her appreciation for her students as well as providing a learning experience in finances, the Social Studies teacher did not turn to the stock exchange or other traditional teaching tools to motivate and educate her students. Instead, she set her focus on cryptocurrency. “To be honest, these kids are probably going to live in a world where crypto is more mainstream,” said Ms. Schmidt. “A lot of my students are very interested in crypto. They follow it on social media. They’ll ask me, 'Hey Ms. Schmidt, how do you become a solidity developer?' 'I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to do some research and I started to look into this during the pandemic and it was there, sometime in May, I discovered OfficialToken on Reddit’s Crypto Moonshots. Their (Official Token) platform intrigued me so I joined their community.” The Crow Creek Tribal School, which is located on the Hunkpati Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, is made up of grades K through 12. For Schmidt, her love for her students and her motivation to give something back was the driving force behind her outreach to OfficialToken, a San Diego, Calif.-based cryptocurrency community whose mission is to create a thriving ecosystem for investors, while maintaining transparency and its goal of community charity. “I wanted to buy some tokens and donate to my kids so they can monitor their investment throughout the 2021/22 school year. They know all about this through social media which will add to the learning experience. It seemed like the perfect match for what I was trying to accomplish,” Schmidt said, noting that 36 students will be participating. In all, she has donated 1 million Official Tokens to her students, which will be used during the curriculum. OfficialToken Community Leader Eric Dennis said this is exactly how OfficialToken is supposed to function. “Our primary mission is education and charity work. What Kate is doing, lends itself to what our goals and aspirations are. However, we realized that Kate’s initial investment needed some help so we decided to provide further support with an additional 10 billion Official Tokens for each of the 36 students, which is a total donation of 360 billion tokens,” Dennis said. Ms. Schmidt has already set up accounts for her students, which includes a trust wallet, which holds the tokens. A trust wallet is where an investor can send, receive and store cryptocurrencies. While Ms. Schmidt wanted the crypto investment to be a surprise for her students when they returned in the fall, she soon found that they were already one step ahead of her. “What’s funny is we were decorating for prom and I noticed that OfficialToken spiked and I screamed, ‘Oh wow.’ One of the students asked, what wow?’ After explaining to them why she was excited, the cat was out of the bag and before she knew it, they all knew of the surprise. “In all honesty, this could be life-changing for some of these kids. I just want to prepare them for the world. “Maybe it’s their generation. But they’re all in.” As is Rozee Drapeau, one of Ms. Schmidt’s students. “I think it’s awesome. She believes in us when no one does. She puts her time and becomes another ‘iná’ (Iná means mother in Dakota). About OfficialToken OfficialToken is a community-driven, socially responsible and transparent cryptocurrency token that provides a robust platform for users. We also offer a free Crypto School and 24/7 support. We are doing live-streaming educational and interactive Videos with our New spokesperson Marjie Von Jexxy! Podcasts feature a focus on Charity organization spotlights, Crypto news, Tips and Updates. Get some Free Crypto! OfficialToken is on the lookout for new team members on our Telegram channel. We offer free Crypto Airdrops, giveaways and competitions to reward our very loyal community members and helpers! We are also here to help if you have any problems: Go to https://t.me/OfficialToken for 24/7 Live support. (This is an almost unheard-of feature in this space!) Through local, national and global Charitable Donations and our Free Crypto education platforms - We are producing a positive impact in the World and in the Defi Crypto space. Contact Details The Hoyt Organization Erik Hamilton +1 310-373-0103 ehamilton@hoytorg.com

June 28, 2021 09:57 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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