FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Carey Kinsolving
956-772-1920
carey@KidsTalkAboutGod.org
Cory Inouye
cory@redhorsemountain.com

Teachers Offered Dude Ranch Vacation Through Students

Harrison, Idaho, September 9, 2008 – Children who win dude ranch family vacations through the Children’s International Arts Festival can nominate their favorite teachers to enjoy a week at one of Idaho’s best dude ranches, Red Horse Mountain. Arts festival winners will be asked to write an essay about their favorite teacher.

Four children and their families have already enjoyed dude ranch vacations at other dude ranches by answering and illustrating Bible questions for an online storybook Bible. Nine more dude ranch family vacations will be awarded for next summer and one of them will go to a teacher of a winning child, said festival organizer Carey Kinsolving.

“When I asked Red Horse Mountain ranch manager Cory Inouye to donate one dude ranch family vacation, he asked if he could give away more than one,” said Kinsolving. “I could hardly believe Cory’s generosity, but he agreed to offer a second vacation to a teacher of a festival winner.

“This is not just any dude ranch. We visited more than 300 dude ranch websites in selecting the dozen that have agreed to award vacations. In terms of breathtaking views and services provided, I would have to rank www.RedHorseMountain.com among the top 10.”

Entry forms can be found at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. There is no entry fee. Although entries will be accepted through March 31, 2009, Kinsolving urges immediate action because some winners will be chosen before the March deadline. The purpose of the international festival is to encourage children to study the Bible and to give teachers and parents a large carrot to entice them to do so. To view web pages of dude ranch family vacation winners for this past summer, please visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/winners.

Pollster George Gallup, Jr. has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the international festival. Kinsolving said he asked Gallup to serve in this capacity because his polling has demonstrated that knowing the Bible and applying it transforms lives and society. “George Gallup is a pioneer who made the spiritual world more tangible,” said Kinsolving. “When he started surveying to explore people’s spiritual lives in the early 1950s, this was virgin territory.”

“A mountain of survey data shows that when educational background and other variables are held constant, persons who are `highly spiritually committed’ are far less likely to engage in antisocial behavior than those less committed,” said Gallup. “They have lower rates of crime, excessive alcohol use, and drug addiction than other groups.

“They are more hopeful about the future and experience greater joy in life. They contribute more time helping people who are burdened with physical and emotional needs. They are less likely to be racist, and are more giving and forgiving.”

A 2002 Gallup poll found that 93 percent of Americans own a Bible. Gallup and Kinsolving want to see the Bible brought out of bookcases and put into the lives of children. They believe the Children’s International Arts Festival featured on the Kids Talk About God website (www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org) is a step in the right direction.

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