Mouse, National Youth Development Nonprofit, Celebrates 20 Years of Empowering Youth to Create Technology with Purpose

1. Mouse, National Youth Development Nonprofit, Celebrates 20 Years of Empowering Youth to Create Technology with Purpose (1888 PressRelease) Best Buy, CBS EcoMedia, Gale A. Brewer, and Marc Lesser Honored at Mouse's New York City Benefit. New York, NY - National youth development nonprofit Mouse (www.mouse.org) celebrated its 20th anniversary at the Mouse20: Powering Change benefit on Tuesday, May 9th in New York City. Mouse empowers youth to create with technology to solve real problems and make meaningful change in the world. Since its founding in 1997, Mouse has impacted nearly 40,000 youth across the nation. The interactive Mouse20 event kicked off with a Maker Space, during which Mouse students presented projects using exciting technologies such as circuitry, 3D design, and virtual reality. The Mouse Design League showcased their assistive and adaptive technology projects designed to positively impact the lives of others. "Mouse helps young learners identify challenges that matter in their own communities, and empowers them to design technology-driven solutions to solve these problems," said Daniel Rabuzzi, Executive Director of Mouse. "We help them focus on learning about and harnessing the latest technologies, but with an equal emphasis on purpose." At the dinner following the Maker Space, Mouse recognized Civic Honoree Gale A. Brewer, Visionary Honoree Marc Lesser, and Corporate Honorees Best Buy and CBS EcoMedia. Twenty Mouse students and alums were also honored as the organization's "20 Makers of Change." Best Buy has been a valued partner of Mouse for 15 years, having invested nearly $3 million in seed funding to expand the Mouse learning network to reach thousands of young people from underserved communities nationwide. "Best Buy is committed to making a positive impact in our communities by giving youth access to technology and tech education to prepare them for the jobs of the future," said Andrea Wood, Community Relations Director, Best Buy. "We are proud to support Mouse and celebrate their 20 years of Mouse empowering youth to create technology with purpose, solve real problems and make meaningful change in our world." Through a partnership with CBS EcoMedia and Tri-State Ford, Mouse has introduced its learning platform, Mouse Create, to hundreds of young people in the Tri-State area. "We're proud to support Mouse in empowering children to embrace science and technology at a young age," said Paul Polizzotto, President and Founder of CBS EcoMedia Inc. "Tri-State Ford's financial support through EcoMedia's EducationAd program will ensure our children can develop the skills needed for a great future." CBS EcoMedia has also helped fund new Mouse learning content in wearable technology through a joint partnership with Arrow Electronics. Mouse is committed to closing the diversity gap in STEM and opening opportunities for youth from

2. underserved communities across the country. Together with its partners and supporters, Mouse is helping students realize their full potential to learn, lead, and create for the greater good. "I am honored to be recognized as we celebrate 20 years at Mouse," said Marc Lesser, Senior Director of Learning Design at Mouse. "I am grateful especially to the young people who prove to us every day that an investment in them is an investment in all of our futures." For more information on Mouse, please visit mouse.org, facebook.com/mouse.org, or ( @ ) mouse_org. For more information on Mouse20, please visit mouse.org/mouse20. ###