Cast spokespeople for the Great American Bakesale

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PARADE Magazine and Share Our Strength Present the Great American Bake Sale(TM) to End Childhood Hunger in America

The Cast of ABC's '8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter' to Act as National Spokespeople; Top Pastry Chefs, Including 'Two Hot Tamales,' Lend Their Talent to the Cause


NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year, thirteen million children in the United States are hungry or at risk of hunger. That's why PARADE magazine, the largest-circulation magazine in the U.S., and Share Our Strength, a leading national anti-hunger organization, will host the first-ever Great American Bake Sale(TM) to support the fight to end childhood hunger in America.

PARADE will launch the Great American Bake Sale with a national cover story on childhood hunger on April 27. The program will continue through July 22, 2003. During this time, all Americans -- individuals, church groups, organizations and businesses -- are encouraged to register at http://www.greatamericanbakesale.org and participate by hosting a bake sale in their communities. All funds raised will be donated to Share Our Strength, which will then make grants to innovative nonprofits fighting childhood hunger in the United States. These grants will be made to organizations in the states where funds were raised, to agencies in high-need areas, and to a national anti-hunger program. Since it was founded in 1984, Share Our Strength has granted nearly $70 million to more than 1,000 of the most innovative and effective anti-hunger programs in America and abroad.

"Most people are not aware that every fourth person in a soup line today is a child," says Bill Shore, executive director of Share Our Strength. "We believe everyone has a strength to share in the fight against childhood hunger in America and hope families, church groups, brownie troops, civic groups, and everyone else joins us for the Great American Bake Sale."

Jack Griffin, PARADE president and publisher, adds, "This program presents an enormous opportunity for PARADE and its responsive, dedicated readers to affect serious and lasting change across the country. We are committed to calling as much attention as possible to the plight of childhood hunger in America."

The entire cast of ABC's hit comedy "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," which recently won the People's Choice Award for best new television comedy, will record Public Service Announcements and make appearances on behalf of the Great American Bake Sale. In addition, the series will create a storyline tied to the initiative. "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" stars John Ritter, Katey Sagal, Kaley Cuoco, Amy Davidson and Martin Spanjers. "Every week, '8 Simple Rules' entertains millions of people," said Susan Lyne, president, ABC Entertainment. "By making The Bake Sale a centerpiece of an episode, we're hoping to educate as well, by introducing our audience to this important initiative."

Celebrated cookbook author and PARADE Food Editor Sheila Lukins will also lend her talents to the cause, as will some of the United States' most talented pastry chefs: Nicole Kaplan of Eleven Madison Park in New York City; Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles; the Two Hot Tamales, Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill and Susan Feniger of Ciudad, in L.A.; Ann Amernick of Palena in Washington, D.C.; Enrique Sanchez of Taberna del Alabardero, also in D.C.; and Leanne Nagle of Vincent, A Restaurant in Minneapolis.

This national fundraising program is made possible through the sponsorship support of ABC Entertainment, Betty Crocker baking products and Tyson Foods, Inc., with additional support provided by Reynolds Consumer Products.

For more information on the Great American Bake Sale, to register, get recipes and ideas and tips on holding a bake sale, please visit http://www.greatamericanbakesale.org beginning April 1.

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Source: PARADE Magazine; Share Our Strength

[Pavan]

Amy Davidson, who plays Kerry on the ABC sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," tells us she's up to the challenge of testing her skills for the Great American Bake Sale program. She and the rest of the show's cast are joining forces with the charity Share Our Strength and some of the country's
top pastry chefs to help end childhood hunger in the United States by raising money for the organization through the sale. "When I heard that 13 million kids in this country go hungry every day, I was astonished," says Amy. "If we can
lower that number at all, it'll be worth it." From April 27 through July 22, Share Our Strength and Parade magazine will encourage individuals, churches, businesses and civic groups to host bake sales in which the proceeds will go toward nonprofit organizations set up to fight childhood hunger in America.

The "8 Simple Rules" cast has taped Bake Sale PSAs that will begin airing next month and have taped an episode built around the Great American Bake Sale scheduled to air April 29. For more information, go to www.greatamericanbakesale.org