National Summer Learning Association Kick-starts Summer of 'Game Building' to Keep Kids Learning

NEW YORK, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today in a coast-to-coast kick off to National Summer Learning Week (July 12-16), the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), the nation's only organization dedicated solely to ensuring accessible learning opportunities for children, took over all Clear Channel Outdoor nationwide digital billboard displays, featuring the Game Builder Garage game for the Nintendo Switch system. The new outdoor campaign presents a message calling on parents and students alike to reclaim the joy of summer and learning at DiscoverSummer.org – a new NSLA online destination, developed in response to COVID-19, to help families discover affordable local summer programs, summer meals, parent tips and a sea of resources to keep kids learning, earning, safe and healthy this season.

In tandem with this NSLA effort, Clear Channel Outdoor, a longtime NSLA partner, will support awareness for the project by running out-of-home messages today across all its 2,000 digital displays, and then, across these same displays nationwide throughout the summer. Together, the organizations will harness out-of-home media to elevate the importance of keeping all kids learning, healthy and safe during summer, while also directing families across the country to the local resources available to nurture the curiosity of their children.

NSLA incorporates the fun of learning after a pandemic year that has seen families across the country struggle with isolation, digital deserts, childcare, food insecurities and academic setbacks for some of the nation's most vulnerable children. A large-scale study funded by The Wallace Foundation and published by the RAND Corporation demonstrated that students with high attendance in free, five to six-week, voluntary summer learning programs experienced educationally meaningful benefits in math and reading.

"This summer will be more important than ever in helping our nation's young people recharge, heal, reconnect with peers, and rediscover the joy of learning," said Aaron Dworkin, NSLA CEO. "We're thrilled to kick off National Summer Learning Week with a huge splash across all Clear Channel Outdoor's nationwide digital billboard displays to showcase Game Builder Garage and DiscoverSummer.org to students, parents and educators," said Aaron P. Dworkin, CEO, National Summer Learning Association.

From July 12 to July 16, the NSLA is hosting National Summer Learning Week, a celebration dedicated to elevating the importance of keeping kids learning, active and engaged through the summer months. Nintendo of America is a presenting partner of the STEM Theme Day on July 12 of the week-long virtual event, using the Game Builder Garage game as a way to reach kids interested in learning the basics of coding, game design and more.

In Game Builder Garage, kids can go hands-on with interactive, step-by-step lessons that introduce the basics of visual game programming – and no prior experience is necessary! Once kids learn the basic skills from the in-game lessons, they will be able to create their own video games – from side-scrolling platformers, to kart racers, to space blasters – by connecting mysterious creatures in the game called Nodon. Game Builder Garage is designed to make learning about and building video games just as much fun as playing them.

In their constant quest for learning and educational equity, NSLA's partnership with Nintendo of America meets children at the intersection of their interests and their educational needs. The bright digital OOH creative features both NSLA and elements of Game Builder Garage to capture audiences out-of-home and drive parents and caregivers alike to DiscoverSummmer.org, where they can locate resources in their area.

"We are proud to partner with NSLA and Nintendo of America in this powerfully visible way to help direct families to vital programs in their community to keep their kids learning all summer long, said Dan Levi, EVP & CMO, Clear Channel Outdoor and NSLA Board Member. "Never before has the need for educational equity been greater among our nation's most disadvantaged youth. And locally supported community programs, with the support of NSLA, are making a significant difference in closing the achievement gap."

About Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.: Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCO) is one of the world's largest outdoor advertising companies with a diverse portfolio of more than 500,000 print and digital displays in 31 countries across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia, reaching millions of people monthly. A growing digital platform includes more than 17,000 digital displays in international markets and more than 2,000 digital displays (excluding airports), including more than 1,400 digital billboards, in the U.S.

Comprised of two business divisions – Clear Channel Outdoor Americas (CCOA), the U.S. and Caribbean business division, and Clear Channel International (CCI), covering markets in Europe, Latin America and Asia – CCO employs approximately 4,700 people globally. More information is available at investor.clearchannel.com, clearchanneloutdoor.com and clearchannelinternational.com.

About the National Summer Learning Association: The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement and opportunity gaps by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers community capacity-building offerings and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education.

SOURCE Clear Channel Outdoor

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