Pen Pal Kids Club Website Offering Free Subscriptions To School-Based And Non-Profit Summer Programs

CARMEL, Calif., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pen Pal Kids Club (PPKC), "the safe social network for kids around the world™," is offering FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS to school-based and other non-profit summer programs.  Details available at: www.penpalkidsclub.com.  Providing different levels of challenge for children aged four to 14, PPKC is an interactive 'edu-tainment' website that lets kids explore, play and share with global pen pals in a completely secure, COPPA-compliant online environment. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120522/SF11327LOGO)

"Pen Pal Kids Club invites children to go on exciting global adventures and learn about world cultures this summer – without leaving home, summer school or camp!" said John Aliotti, co-founder of the website.

Guaranteed free of advertisements, PPKC is available for $2.99 U.S. per month (first month free), or $29.99 for a year's subscription (two months free).  Fees to non-profit programs and schools are waived in order to make this valuable educational resource available to as many kids as possible.

Key features include:

• Members exchange digital postcards with children globally, communicating via a classroom or individual avatar to ensure privacy.  Parents, teachers and counselors locate and approve the Pen Pals, plus guide questions and responses that help kids learn about their new friends' cultures and daily lives. 
• Postcards are automatically translated into seven languages - English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian and German - so children around the world can participate. 
• Six interactive games based on culture, world history, and geography add to the learning fun.  Designed for a range of ages and skills, they include:
  • Trivial Travails! Compete IN REAL TIME against three other players, answering fast-paced questions about history, geography, and related subjects.
  • Fare Fair!  Help customers choose a meal that is native to their country while learning to recognize foreign words, foods and currencies.
• Through an exclusive partnership with Encyclopaedia Britannica for Kids, subscribers enjoy direct online access to this vast appropriate child-filtered library of information. PPKC's secure online environment offers built-in adult controls, is fully compliant with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and has earned the TRUSTe seal of safety.

The website was co-founded by John and Shelley Aliotti, based on an original concept by Shelley Aliotti, author/illustrator of "My Pen Pal Scrapbook: An Educational Journey Through World Cultures." 

"It's wonderful seeing kids really communicating," says Shelley, "this is what it's all about:  'I love reading books! I think books are made to make you want to live in the character's world. I like to cook, play volleyball and soccer and also draw and paint.  I've never been to England. I would love to go there. It sounds amazing!'  A response back was, 'Trivial Travails was fun. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I want to go to Harvard and become a lawyer.  I'll want to come to America. I need to go to sleep! It's 11:13 in England!  Nice playing with you. Goodnight.'

CONTACT:  Shelley Aliotti of Pen Pal Kids Club, 831-659-4434, [email protected]

SOURCE Pen Pal Kids Club