WarnerMedia Kids & Family Celebrates Cartoonito Launch By Donating 10,000 Backpacks to Preschoolers Across the Country

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Sept. 15, 2021 – Burbank, CA – Buckle up with WarnerMedia Kids & Family as Cartoonito embarks on a nationwide journey to donate 10,000 backpacks to preschoolers across the country. In celebration of this week’s launch of its new preschool block Cartoonito on HBO Max and Cartoon Network, the backpacks, filled with school supplies and fun creativity kits will be distributed to young children through the Kids In Need Foundation and at eight free pop-up events during the Cartoonito mobile tour from Sept. 18 – Oct. 10.

The Kids In Need Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that believes every child in America should have equal opportunity and access to quality education. To support this mission, WarnerMedia Kids & Family will donate 5,000 Cartoonito-themed backpacks to the Kids In Need Foundation to ensure these essential supplies are delivered to preschoolers in underserved schools that need it the most.

The remaining backpacks will be given away during the Cartoonito mobile tour kicking off in Los Angeles on Sept. 18—a few days after the preschool block’s Sept. 13 premiere on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. The tour will also make its way to San Diego, Calif.; St. Louis, Mo.; Staten Island, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Nashville, Tenn. and Atlanta, Ga.

“Cartoonito is about being a place where preschoolers are free to be themselves, and assuring them that different is good and it’s fun to get messy,” said Tricia Melton, Chief Marketing Officer, Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics. “Our partnership with Kids In Need Foundation and this nationwide tour is a great way to provide spaces and opportunities where kids and creativity can find each other.”

Each pop-up event is free to attend and will feature fun, interactive activities and giveaways that exemplify Cartoonito’s mission to be a space where creativity and originality are celebrated, and compassion and inclusion are championed. Every stop will include a “Patch Bar” where preschoolers can customize their free Cartoonito-themed backpack, a coloring station where preschoolers are encouraged to draw outside the lines, a photo opportunity where kids and families can take silly photos with giant inflatable Cartoonito characters, and more activations that will let preschoolers’ wild imaginations soar.

Parents can reserve a free backpack and RSVP to the in-person event(s) in their communities via the tour’s Eventbrite pages below:

Cartoonito Mobile Tour Schedule:

• Saturday, Sept. 18 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Discovery Cube—Los Angeles, CA
• Sunday, Sept. 19 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum—San Diego, CA
• Saturday, Sept. 25 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): City Museum, St. Louis, MO
• Sunday, Sept. 26 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): City Museum, St. Louis, MO
• Saturday, Oct. 2 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Staten Island Children’s Museum, Staten Island, NY
• Sunday, Oct. 3 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Boston Children’s Museum—Boston, MA
• Saturday, Oct. 9 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Adventure Science Center—Nashville, TN
• Saturday, Oct. 10 (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.): Greystone at Piedmont Park – Atlanta, GA

Covid-19 Protocols
These events will adhere to CDC COVID-19 protocols, and social distancing will be encouraged. Staff and brand ambassadors will be fully vaccinated and will wear masks when working with guests. If local jurisdictions are mandating masks, our staff will ensure that mask protocols are followed by guests. Tables will be sanitized after each guest departs. There will also be hand-sanitizing stations in various locations around the footprint.

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About WarnerMedia Kids & Family
WarnerMedia Kids & Family is the united group within the WarnerMedia enterprise that offers an expansive content slate on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. As the umbrella brand for all kids and family content, Cartoon Network reenergized its brand promise through its new tagline Redraw Your World, which empowers individuality and aims to be the place where kids are free to be themselves. With hundreds of hours of original series, specials and acquisitions, the WarnerMedia Kids & Family portfolio features its Cartoonito preschool programming block; a roster of upcoming animation and live-action originals that appeal to kids of all ages; and ACME Night, a weekend entertainment destination for families to enjoy a line-up of library favorites and blockbuster hits as well as new originals that will include Batman: Caped Crusader,  Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, and more. A marquee collection of powerhouse brands and expertise marks WarnerMedia Kids & Family as a global leader wherever its brands live and engage with audiences all over the world.

About Cartoonito
Cartoonito is the WarnerMedia Kids & Family preschool programming block on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.  Inspired by Positive Psychology and 21^st Century Learning, Cartoonito is based on the proprietary preschool educational framework of Humancentric Learning, which aims to support every child’s humanness by celebrating their unique selves. With a roster of originals actively in development, Cartoonito will offer modern programming that leans into WarnerMedia’s Kids & Family iconic IP that stems from Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. Mush-Mush & the Mushables and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go are among a slate of 20 new series that will be available at launch. In addition, a portfolio of originals including Batwheels, Sesame Workshop’s Bea’s Block, Bugs Bunny Builders, Little Ellen, and a collection of projects from bestselling children’s book author Mo Willems will add to thousands of hours of content from WarnerMedia’s legacy library and global acquisitions.

About Kids In Need Foundation
Kids In Need Foundation (KINF), a nonprofit organization that believes every child in America deserves equal opportunity and access to a quality education, provides the support and tools needed for teachers to teach and learners to learn. By providing essential school supplies, distance learning resources, and other classroom items in high demand, KINF partners with teachers in underserved schools to ensure students are prepared to learn in the classroom. In 2020, through its programs and National Network of Resource Centers, comprised of more than 40 mission-driven organizations nationwide, KINF served an estimated 5 million students, 205,000 teachers, and provided over $70 million in product at no cost to schools or teachers. For more information, visit KINF.org, and join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter: @KidsInNeed.