ANN ARBOR, MI - NSF International today announced that the Scrub Club (www.scrubclub.org) received an honorable mention after becoming a finalist for the prestigious platinum award from PR News. PR News announced the winners of the platinum PR Awards on October 2nd at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

The Scrub Club is a fun, animated and interactive website that teaches children the proper way to wash their hands. Each of the Scrub Club "soaper-heroes" represents one of the six steps in the handwashing process - "Hot Shot" and "Chill" combine to make warm water essential for proper handwashing; "Squeaks" turns into various forms of soap; "Taki" becomes a clock that counts down the required 20 seconds for proper handwashing; "Scruff" reminds kids to clean around their nails; "Tank" turns into a sink to rinse away the germs; and "P.T." transforms into paper towels.

The Scrub Club "soaper-heroes" have made appearances on Good Morning America, NPR's Morning Edition, The New York Times, Associated Press, Scholastic for Kids, NEA Today and many more for a total of more than 150 million media impressions.

The free website includes activities for kids, educational materials (in French, Spanish and English) for teachers, as well as information for parents. Interactive games "Stop Fluin' Around" and "Big E's Grossest Hits" teach kids how to protect themselves from Influenza and E. coli. The cornerstone of the website is a "Webisode" or cartoon featuring the Scrub Club as they join forces to fight off harmful germs and bacteria, teaching children the proper way to wash their hands along the way. The first "Webisode," "The Good, the BAC, and the Ugly," finds the Scrub Club battling the loathsome, but loveable character BAC (from the Partnership for Food Safety Education's Fight BAC! public education campaign), and one of his partners in "grime" Sal Monella in a wild-west themed adventure.

"Developing and supporting the Scrub Club has been a truly rewarding experience for NSF," said Anna Schmitt-Reichert, Director of Communications for NSF International. "We are honored to support a program so true to our mission - to improve and protect public health. And we couldn't have done it without our partners."

The Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) has partnered with NSF International on the Scrub Club. The Partnership for Food Safety Education is a not-for-profit organization that unites industry associations, consumer and public health groups and the U.S. government, to educate the public about safe food handling and preparation.

The American Red Cross has also teamed up with NSF to teach children the importance of proper and consistent handwashing. The American Red Cross, a charitable organization - not a government agency - shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families.

The Scrub Club was designed with the help of OLSON (www.oco.com), a Minneapolis-based advertising agency, to educate children on the importance of proper handwashing, while maintaining a fun and interactive platform for learning.

To visit the latest media information on the Scrub Club, visit the Scrub Club News Room.

Background on the Award
PR News' Platinum PR Awards highlights outstanding communications initiatives and programs in the highly competitive and dynamic PR arena. The awards set the industry benchmark for excellence across all areas of PR. The Platinum PR Awards are open to all individuals and teams worldwide at for-profit and non-profit organizations, including: corporations, PR firms, public affairs and IR agencies, publicity firms, associations, government, NGO teams and sole practitioners. Entries are judged by a blue chip panel of corporate, agency and academic executives, as well as by the staff of PR News based on creativity, innovation, sound planning and implementation.

About NSF International
NSF International, an independent, not-for-profit organization, helps protect you by certifying products and writing standards for food, water and consumer goods (www.nsf.org). Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting public health and safety worldwide. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment. Additional services include safety audits for the food and water industries, management systems registrations delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations, organic certification provided by Quality Assurance International and education through the NSF Center for Public Health Education.