Backpack! Backpack! If those two words bring a smile to your child’s face — and conjure up images of knick knacks for you –  then chances are your family is well-versed in Dora the Explorer.

The hit Nickelodeon show is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and to mark the occasion celebrity parents like Salma Hayek and Slash have signed on to “Beyond the Backpack.”

A multi-year, multi-platform program, Beyond the Backpack stresses the importance of overall school readiness. By partnering with the Children’s Defense Fund and the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), an advisory committee will assist preschoolers, their parents and their educators through a website which features downloadable content and tool kits, community events, financial resources and grants, fundraisers and more.

Objectives include social skills building, fostering emotional intelligence, strengthening early literacy and improving math skills.

Scott Kirkland/INF

Click below to learn more!

Salma — mom to Valentina Paloma, 2 — recently filmed Beyond the Backpack’s first PSA alongside Dora, herself. She and Slash — dad to London Emilio, 8 and Cash Anthony, 5 — have also designed limited-edition, Dora-themed backpacks which will be auctioned off this summer around the globe, in countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, Greece, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

All proceeds from the domestic auction will benefit The Children’s Defense Fund, while all international proceeds will go directly to early childhood education in their respective countries.

For 35 years, the Children’s Defense Fund has worked to ensure a level playing field for all children by championing policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect and ensure their access to health care, quality education, and a moral and spiritual foundation.

A non-profit advocacy group, the Children’s Defense Fund is supported by foundation and corporate grants as well as individual donations. Click here to learn how else you can help.

Filed under: Caught Caring, Main, Philanthropy