Badge-A-Minit Donates More Than $56,000 to American Red Cross Liberty Fund OGLESBY, Ill. (March 21, 2002) - Badge-A-Minit, the nation's largest manufacturer of button-making machines, button parts and accessories, is donating more than $56,000 to the American Red Cross Liberty Fund, which was established to provide financial assistance to families of victims in the Sep. 11 tragedies.

      The donation was raised through the sale of Badge-A-Minit's United We Stand buttons, which were designed with the "United We Stand" phrase and an American flag to show patriotic support following the Sep. 11 tragedies. The buttons were on sale from Sep. 14, 2001 to Jan. 31, 2002, with half the proceeds for the more than 112,000 buttons purchased going to the American Red Cross.

      Response to the United We Stand button campaign was so strong that Badge-A-Minit had to hire temporary employees to assemble buttons. "We consider ourselves one big family at Badge-A-Minit and would be devastated if a tragedy struck any of our members. Our hearts go out to the families of victims of Sep. 11 and we hope our donation will provide some comfort to those in need," said Cindy Kurkowski, president of Badge-A-Minit.

      According to the American Red Cross, the Liberty Fund covers "time-sensitive needs such as mortgage or rent, childcare, tuition, utility and transportation payments, medical bills and other living expenses" for the families of victims lost in the Sep. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

      "I can't compliment people enough for supporting the victims of Sept. 11. I recently spent three weeks in New York and there are still a lot of hurting people," said JoAnne Morlan, director of the Illinois Valley American Red Cross in Peru. "On behalf of the entire American Red Cross organization, I want to thank Badge-A-Minit for their time, effort and creativity in this endeavor, as well as those that purchased the United We Stand buttons."

      Morlan said the Liberty Fund is now closed, but those wishing to support Sept. 11 victims with a financial donation can do so through their local Red Cross or by visiting www.redcross.org. Badge-A-Minit extends a special thanks to Oglesby-based Advantage Logistics, a division of SuperValu, Inc., which distributes general merchandise, health, beauty care and pharmacy items to grocery stores throughout the Midwest. Advantage Logistics purchased 30,000 United We Stand buttons for its employees and customers.

      Badge-A-Minit is grateful to each person and business that supported its fund-raising efforts. "Thank you for helping to support our country," said Kurkowski.

Based in Oglesby, Ill., Badge-A-Minit is the nation's leading manufacturer of button-making machines, button parts and accessories. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Badge-A-Minit has been a pioneer in the button-making industry, leading the way in the innovative development of faster and easier button making. Badge-A-Minit's full line of button-making machines range from hand-held presses, with which you can truly make a button in a minute, to fully automated electronic machines. For more information, visit www.badgeaminit.com or call 800-223-4103.

      Badge-A-Minit Introduces New Products: Xpress Kit with a Hip, New Design and 1¼" Button Making Kit Button-making can be a profitable business from home Oglesby, Ill., (March 13, 2002) - Badge-A-Minit, the nation's largest manufacturer of button-making machines, button parts and accessories, announces some new products: a new button-making machine that features a hip new design for today's younger generations and 1¼" button making kits.

      Badge-A-Minit president, Cindy Kurkowski, says that button-making can be a profitable home business. "It costs as little as 16 cents to make a button and they can be sold for $1.00 or more. Entrepreneurs can outsource products to local restaurants, businesses, schools, park districts, municipalities and political candidates for fund-raisers and special events, as well as sell them at craft fairs."

      Badge-A-Minit updated the look of its hand press by offering the press in translucent orange and including translucent assembly rings in a variety of colors. For $39.95, the Xpress Kit comes with accessories to make 30 2¼" buttons, including brightly colored and holographic background papers, as well as an introductory bonus pack, which includes two each of the following sets: bulldog-back, spin-back, magnet-back, sticky-back, mirror-back, key chain and pin-back.

      The Xpress Pro Kit is sold for $59.95 and includes the bonus pack mentioned above, Button Builder Pro button-making software and the manual Cut-A-Circle™, which cuts designs to an exact size in order to make a perfect button. The Button Builder Pro software on CD-ROM allows users to create button designs from a windows based home or office computer. The CD-ROM contains over 8,000 pieces of clip art and is compatible with many commercial clip art packages.

      Badge-A-Minit is also selling new 1¼" button making kits. The company has added a 1¼" adapter to its hand press and bench press systems, as well as developed a 1¼" Cut-A-Circle, which cuts designs to an exact size in order to make a perfect button.

      A 1¼" button-making starter kit is available for $49.95, which includes a hand press, ten pin-back button sets and ten ready-to-use designs. Badge-A-Minit's Big System is $79.95 and includes a hand press, manual Cut-A-Circle and 100 pin-back button sets.

      The Badge-A-Minit bench press system has a table top design for faster and easier button-making. For $99.95, this system includes a bench press, manual Cut-A-Circle and 250 pin-back button sets.

Bench press systems are available in combos. The 1¼" and 2¼" Bench System Combo includes 50 each of 1¼" and 2¼" pin-back button sets in addition to the bench press and manual Cut-A-Circles. Cost is $149.95.

      For $215.95, the 3-in-1 Bench System Combo offers the same accessories as the 1¼" and 2¼" system, a Cut-A-Circle 3 and 50 3" pin-back button sets.

      Badge-A-Minit offers same day shipment for orders placed before 11 a.m. CST. Shipping is free for all UPS ground shipments within the continental United States.

      Badge-A-Minit has added other new items to its product line, including spin back and bulldog clip sets, holographic foils and a 4-in-1 Cut-A-Circle. For more information or to order products, call 800-223-4103 or visit www.badgeaminit.com.

Based in Oglesby, Ill., Badge-A-Minit is the nation's leading manufacturer of button-making machines, button parts and accessories. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Badge-A-Minit has been a pioneer in the button-making industry, leading the way in the innovative development of faster and easier button making. Badge-A-Minit's full line of button-making machines range from hand-held presses, with which you can truly make a button in a minute, to fully automated electronic machines. For more information, visit www.badgeaminit.com or call 800-223-4103.

      Motivating Children to Read Through the Power of Books and Buttons Badge-A-Minit Partners with Cops-N-Kids Reading Program Oglesby, Ill., (Nov. 1, 2001) - To help promote the benefits of reading to children, Badge-A-Minit, the nation's leading manufacturer of button-making machines, button parts and accessories, has partnered with the Cops-N-Kids program in Racine, Wisc.

      Founded by retired Racine police officer, Julia Burney, in 1997, Cops-N-Kids is a reading program for children, with an emphasis on at-risk and underprivileged youth. Burney and fellow police officers started the program by delivering books from the trunks of their squad cars to children in the neighborhoods they routinely patrolled in Racine.

      The program quickly became popular, locally and nationally. Cops-N-Kids gained the attention of Oprah Winfrey, receiving a $100,000 Use Your Life Award from Oprah's Angel Network in September 2000. Burney was also interviewed by Katie Couric on NBC's Today Show in July 2000.

      Through Oprah's Angel money and numerous other monetary and in-kind donations, the Racine program has grown into a 5,000 square foot reading center with a 4,000-book library, computer center, arts and crafts room and tutoring rooms. Between 30 and 50 children visit the Cops-N-Kids reading center daily. Since its opening in June 2001, the children have read almost 3,000 books. In addition, other Cops-N-Kids programs have been started in several cities around the nation.

      Badge-A-Minit is donating a lifetime supply of button-making parts, two button-making machines and button design software, as well as 5,000 Cops-N-Kids magnets. "We saw Julia Burney on the Today Show and Oprah and were moved by her love and compassion for children," said Cindy Kurkowski, president of Badge-A-Minit. "We instinctively wanted to help her cause. More than 30 percent of Badge-A-Minit customers work to educate children and for thirty years our buttons have been proven motivators in youth reading programs nationwide. We want our buttons and magnets to help spread the good word about the Cops-N-Kids program."

      The buttons will be used as rewards, motivational tools and arts and crafts projects for the children that visit the reading center, such as "way to go" buttons for reading a certain number of books and drawings by children of favorite book characters made into buttons. The buttons will also be used as nametags for the children, which they can design themselves. The Cops-N-Kids magnets will be sent home with children and given out at local schools and community events so parents can post childrens' artwork in the home. "The magnets will instill pride and show the children how much their work is valued by parents," said Burney.

      "Reading helps children gain wisdom about the past, present and future. It opens their hearts and minds to people and places they otherwise would never get to experience," added Burney. "We are thankful to Badge-A-Minit for helping us promote the value of reading to children. The buttons will be lasting reminders to the children of their reading achievements and incentives for them to reach higher."

      Kurkowski will present the donation to Burney at the Cops-N-Kids reading center on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 4:00 p.m. Local children and their parents will be invited. Kurkowski will demonstrate how to use the machines and will read to the children. Beverages and snacks will be served, compliments of Badge-A-Minit. For more information or to find out how to get your child involved in Cops-N-Kids, call 262-632-1606 or visit www.copsnkids.org.

      Based in Oglesby, Ill., Badge-A-Minit is the nation's leading manufacturer of button-making machines, button parts and accessories. For 30 years, Badge-A-Minit has led the button-making industry in the innovative development of faster and easier button making.

Badge-A-Minit's full line of button-making machines range from hand-held presses to fully automated electronic machines, with which you can truly make a button in a minute. Also offered is an assortment of button parts, from pin-back and magnet-back sets to bulldog clip sets and spinners. To make cutting designs easy, there are a variety of Cut-A-Circle's to choose from that cut your design to an exact size in order to make a perfect button. Accessories from rosettes and ribbons to button design software are also available. More than 30 percent of Badge-A-Minit customers work to educate children. For more information, visit www.badgeaminit.com or call 800-223-4103.

Cops-N-Kids is a reading program for children, with an emphasis on at-risk and underprivileged children. Founded by retired Racine police officer, Julia Burney, in 1997, the program was started from the trunks of Racine squad cars and has grown into a 5,000 square foot reading center. Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network granted a $100,000 Use Your Life Award to Cops-N-Kids in September 2000. In addition to the $100,000 Oprah donation, numerous other monetary, product and in-kind donations contributed to the renovation of the Cops-N-Kids Racine reading center, which includes a 4,000-book library, computer center, arts and crafts room and tutoring rooms. Between 30 and 50 children visit the Cops-N-Kids reading center daily, practicing "library" skills by checking out and returning books. For more information, call 262-632-1606 or visit www.copsnkids.org.