For Immediate Release
Monday, July 14, 2008

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), a national student organization, launched an interactive web site from Alumni Channel for its two million alumni and associates (A&A).   FCCLA alumni and associates, as well as advisers and university professors, now have a dedicated online community space from Alumni Channel, a provider of hosted, online communities for schools and other non-profits.

At an Alumni & Associates reception held today at FCCLA’s annual National Leadership Meeting in Orlando, the site was revealed to over 200 in attendance at the reception.  Scores of interested alumni also made visits to the FCCLA A&A booth in the exhibit hall over the three day meeting for additional information and to sign up.

Similar to Facebook and MySpace, and taglined “A community for FCCLA / FHA / NHA / HERO Alumni & Associates,” the FCCLA Alumni & Associates online community gives members multiple opportunities for networking. These range from member profiles and message boards for staying in touch with FCCLA past officers and advisers, to news about alumni; FCCLA-sponsored, events; and professional development opportunities. “We created this new site to foster a greater sense of community among FCCLA alumni and associates and connect them to other young people who share the same passion for leadership and family,” said Leslie Shields, Communications and Alumni Coordinator for FCCLA.  Goals for the community include mentor programs, online interaction, and a message board of job opportunities.  FCCLA decided to partner with Alumni Channel in order to go “above and beyond” when it came to communicating with A&A members.

To visit FCCLA’s Alumni & Associates Alumni Channel, go to http://www.FCCLAalumni.org.

About FCCLA

FCCLA: The Ultimate Leadership Experience is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences Education. FCCLA has more than 220,000 members and nearly 7,000 chapters from 50 state associations and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The organization has involved more than ten million youth since its founding in 1945.

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is unique among youth organizations because its programs are planned and run by members. It is the only career and technical in-school student organization with the family as its central focus. Participation in national programs and chapter activities helps members become strong leaders in their families, careers, and communities.  FCCLA is located in Reston, Virginia.  For more information, visit www.FCCLAinc.org.

About Alumni Channel

Alumni Channel online alumni communities are designed to increase alumni connections through a secure online alumni directory that will help connect an organization’s entire membership.  Alumni Channel offers alumni a community of their own to contact each other, plan reunions, share stories and photos, and it enables the parent organization (e.g. school, club, team, foundation, district) to maintain and build an alumni database with valuable alumni contact information.  Organizations have the ability to not only announce upcoming events and campaigns on the site itself, but also customize and send mass e-mails, run reports, export data and distribute surveys. Founded in 1998, Alumni Channel is headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  For more information, visit www.alumnichannel.com.

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