Operation: Kid Equip Partners With Former NFL Star Levar Fisher
Partnership will transform youth with positive stories aimed at life-changing outcomes

BERKLEY, Mich. – (March 4, 2010) – Operation: Kid Equip (OKE), an Oakland County-based nonprofit that provides free school supplies, books and dictionaries to at-risk children, has teamed up with former NFL player Levar Fisher to empower local children through his “Believe Again Tour.”

Levar Fisher

The tour seeks to transform youth with positive stories aimed at life-changing outcomes and features a special speaking program designed to boost the self-esteem of youth. Fisher speaks about topics ranging from bullying and peer pressure to abstinence, drugs and alcohol and academics. He spreads his motivational message at school events, rallies, leadership conferences and more and is partnering with OKE to positively impact the lives of metro Detroit students.

“My experience in speaking at schools around the country helps me understand the importance of championing even the most basic concerns related to our children’s education,” said Fisher. “Without organizations like Operation: Kid Equip, many children would go without simple school supplies like paper, backpacks, pencils, rulers and dictionaries…all the tools we naturally assume children have access to. It’s up to each of us to make a difference in a child’s future, and it’s a personal honor to partner with Operation: Kid Equip to inspire our nation’s youth.”

With an impressive career playing on several college and NFL teams, including the New Orleans Saints, Fisher has a powerful story to share born out of sheer determination to win despite a knee injury that ultimately prevented him from playing football.

“Despite being told he couldn’t play professional football, Levar didn’t accept defeat,” said Menachem Kniespeck, OKE co-founder and director. “He worked harder and smarter to reach the place he wanted to be. Through Operation: Kid Equip, I’ve always had the same hope for our local children as we work to break the poverty and hopelessness that many are experiencing. Levar is a role model, and I’m confident he’ll play a huge part in helping local children this year as he lends a hand at various youth-centered community events sponsored by Operation: Kid Equip.”

For more information about Operation: Kid Equip, visit http://www.operationkidequip.org/.

About Operation: Kid Equip
Founded in 2007 in Oakland County, Mich., Operation: Kid Equip’s (OKE) long-term vision is to create a community where every child’s basic needs are met. To accomplish this in the short term, the organization provides school supplies, books and dictionaries to children who are at-risk. To effect long term community improvement, OKE is striving to increase awareness of the issues facing school-aged children to help them succeed in school and in life. For more information about Operation: Kid Equip, visit http://www.operationkidequip.org.

About the Believe Again 2010 Tour
The Believe Again 2010 Tour is destined to transform youth with positive stories aimed at life-changing outcomes. This tour is a special speaking program designed specifically to boost the self-esteem of America’s youth. Levar Fisher speaks about the following programs at school events, rallies, leadership conferences, sport camps and banquets:

• Bullying and Peer Pressure
• Teen violence and Teen Suicide
• Abstinence, Drugs, and Alcohol
• Adversity
• Decision Making
• Preparation and Motivation
• Academic Testing

For more information, visit www.levarfisher.com