WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 19, 25 Las Vegas fourth graders from Reynaldo Martinez Elementary School will get the experience of a lifetime when they meet and skate with U.S. Olympic figure skating stars during a rehearsal for the Capital One "Holiday Celebration on Ice." The rehearsal will take place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas from 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by the taping of the actual performance the next day on October 20.
Communities In Schools, Inc. (CIS), the nation's largest dropout prevention organization, has been selected as Capital One's community partner at this event. During the rehearsal on October 19, Capital One will shoot footage for a public service announcement (PSA) featuring CIS students. The 60-second PSA, which will describe CIS' work to keep students in school and prepare them for the future, will air on the NBC network during the national broadcast of the Capital One "Holiday Celebration on Ice" show on December 25. The PSA will feature Olympic medalists Nancy Kerrigan and Brian Boitano with CIS students from Reynaldo Martinez Elementary.
"Bringing these youngsters together with Olympic athletes is a great way to emphasize that when kids stay in school they are on their way to realizing their dreams and potential," said Bill Milliken, founder and vice chairman, Communities In Schools. "Capital One has been a tremendous partner. We are thrilled that they have selected dropout prevention as the focus of this PSA."
"Capital One is pleased to partner with Communities In Schools on this event. Far too many students are dropping out of school," says Carolyn Berkowitz, senior vice president, Community Relations. "We want to encourage these kids, and most of all to give them a great afternoon they'll never forget."
Upon arriving at the Orleans Arena, students will attend a practice session with skaters such as Nancy Kerrigan, Michael Weiss, and Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman. During the session they will meet and chat with the skaters before performing a short skit and hitting the ice. Afterwards, through the support of Capital One, the students will go to dinner with representatives of CIS of Southern Nevada, and they will each be given three tickets to the next day's taping.
Reynaldo Martinez Elementary School is part of the Clark County School District. CIS has been involved in this school since 2004, providing an array of academic, health care and family support services to help students learn and thrive. CIS national board member Elaine Wynn is the board chairwoman of CIS of Southern Nevada.
About Communities In Schools
Communities In Schools is the nation's largest dropout prevention organization, working in more than 3,200 K-12 public schools. Founded in 1977, Communities In Schools is headquartered in Alexandria, Va. Today, nearly one million young people every year receive direct services through more than 200 Communities In Schools local affiliates in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Between 80-90 percent of our tracked students show improvement in academic achievement, attendance, behavior and promotion to the next grade level.
About Capital One
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (http://www.capitalone.com/) is a financial holding company, with more than 324 locations in Texas and Louisiana. Its principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank, Capital One, F.S.B., Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., and Capital One, N.A., offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had $47.2 billion in deposits and $108.4 billion in managed loans outstanding as of June 30, 2006. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 500 index.
