October 24, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KING FEATURES’ CARTOONISTS RALLY AROUND UNITY DAY TO PROMOTE BULLYING PREVENTION THROUGH KINDNESS, ACCEPTANCE, AND INCLUSION
Cartoonists Unite to Raise Awareness for PACER Center and Bullying Prevention on #UnityDay2018
NEW YORK, October 24, 2018 – Today marks Unity Day, a nationally recognized day created by advocacy organization PACER Center to raise awareness for bullying prevention and encourage kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Working closely with PACER Center, King Features Syndicate, a division of Hearst, has called upon its roster of cartoonists to create a strip that educates readers about what bullying looks like and how to be proactive about bullying prevention.
Led by the Six Chix creative team – Isabella Bannerman, Martha Gradisher, Susan Camilleri Konar, Mary Lawton, Benita Epstein and Stephanie Piro – more than a dozen King Features cartoonists are promoting kindness, acceptance, and inclusion by incorporating the color orange, the official color of bullying prevention, into their strips or featuring storylines that highlight the many different forms of bullying that take place today.
“Every day thousands of people experience bullying, whether at home, school, work, or on the street. After speaking with the National Bullying Prevention Center, a project of PACER, we were inspired to highlight their efforts and all the good they do in our strips during bullying prevention month,” said Six Chix cartoonist Isabella Bannerman. “We are thrilled that King Features offered so much support and rallied our fellow cartoonists to help raise awareness for this important movement.”
“We are incredibly grateful to King Features Syndicate and the Six Chix creative team for generously sharing their talents, creatively delivering the bullying prevention message to their attention in a manner which resonates and captivates,” said Julie Hertzog, Director, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.
Participating King Features cartoonists include:
Arctic Circle by Alex Hallatt
Baby Blues by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith by John Rose
Dennis the Menace by Marcus Hamilton
The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee by John Hambrock
On the Fastrack by Bill Holbrook
Hägar the Horrible by Chris Browne
Lockhorns by Bunny Hoest and John Reiner
Mutts by Patrick McDonnell
Pros and Cons by Keiran Meehan
Rex Morgan, M.D. by Terry Beatty
Six Chix by Isabella Bannerman (Monday)
Six Chix by Martha Gradisher (Tuesday)
Six Chix by Susan Camilleri Konar (Wednesday, Sunday)
Six Chix by Mary Lawton (Thursday)
Six Chix by Benita Epstein (Friday)
Six Chix by Stephanie Piro (Saturday)
Zippy the Pinhead by Bill Griffith
Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
King Features also tapped some of its iconic characters to honor Unity Day. Betty Boop™ and POPEYE® will both support the cause by wearing orange in their social media posts today. All digital conversations around the event will be united through the event’s hashtag – #UnityDay2018.
PACER For more information on PACER and Unity Day, please visit https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/.
About King Features
King Features Syndicate is a unit of Hearst, one of the nation’s largest diversified media, information and services companies, and is a member of Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group, which includes cable network partnerships, television programming activities, and newspaper syndication and merchandise licensing operations. King is one of the most experienced organizations in licensing and entertainment and represents some of the most recognizable global brands, including Betty Boop™, Popeye®, Cuphead, Flash Gordon™, The Phantom™, Hägar the Horrible, Prince Valiant® and Mandrake the Magician. For more information, please visit www.kingfeatures.com/licensing.
About PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center
Founded in 2006, PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center actively leads social change to prevent childhood bullying, so that all youth are safe and supported in their schools, communities and online. PACER provides innovative resources for students, parents, educators, and others, and recognizes bullying as a serious community issue that impacts education, physical and emotional health, and the safety and well-being of students.
About PACER Center
Founded in 1977, PACER Center enhances the quality of life and expands opportunities for children, youth, and young adults with all disabilities and their families, so each person can reach his or her highest potential. PACER operates on the principles of parents helping parents, supporting families, promoting a safe environment for all children, and working in collaboration with others.
URL: PACER.org/Bullying
Facebook: @PACERsNationalBullyingPreventionCenter
Twitter: @PACER_NBPC
Instagram: @pacer_nbpc
Hashtags: #UnityDay2018
Media Contact
Courtney Greenberg
DKC Public Relations
212-981-5701
[email protected]
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