If you’re a parent in this age of video games, cable television and
computer technology, you know it’s tough to get kids to read. But there is one thing
children are sure to read.
Cereal boxes.
Anything to avoid conversation at the breakfast table, but cereal boxes
really do work.
Ask John Kearney Jr. of Ketchum.
Kearney, a 1992 Community School graduate, has done plenty of things in
his 26 years. Always active, he graduated from the Univ. of Vermont in 1996, spent a
semester at sea, and traveled around the world.
Since last October, the son of Jeanie and John Kearney has worked as a
trail group leader for the Montana Conservation Corps—part of a 10-month stint in the
regional AmeriCorps program based in Bozeman.
He’s done trail work in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. But
one of the things he’s proudest of is being pictured on a cereal box.
Two photos of Kearney have been displayed since July 1 on millions and
millions of boxes of Sunrise Organic corn and whole wheat cereal.
"I’ve always read cereal boxes," Kearney said recently.
"Now, six million boxes have my face on them. Maybe kids will look at them and say,
wow, I want to be like John.
"The cereal even tastes pretty good."
It’s for a good cause, called Planet Partners, which is designed to
support AmeriCorps projects that advance and educate others about organic farming—and
to restore and preserve our national parks.
Sunrise Organic, a General Mills product, first came out on grocery
shelves in 1999.
It identified AmeriCorps as a strong supporter of the environment, and
made AmeriCorps the first recipient of its "Planet Partners" campaign.
The current promotion lasts through May 31, 2001 and hopes to raise
$100,000 for AmeriCorps projects.
Money is raised when customers find a Sunrise code printed on the inside
of the cereal package and then access the Sunrise web site, www.sunrisecereal.com. For
each valid code entered, Sunrise has pledged to donate $1 to AmeriCorps programs working
in the area of your choice.
Actually, Kearney is pictured twice on the cereal boxes, once holding a
shovel with a Yellowstone scene in the background. In June, he was one of three people
promoting Ameri-Corps at the national Points of Light meeting in Orlando, Fla.
He doesn’t earn much money for his 10 months of service with the MCC
service organization.
Kearney gets a living stipend of $200 a week. He expects to receive a
$4,725 educational award at the end of his service.
But it’s not about the money.
"I wanted to give something back," he said.
