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ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL® AND
MORE THAN 60 LEADING BRANDS PARTNER FOR 11TH ANNUAL
ST. JUDE
THANKS AND GIVING® HOLIDAY
CAMPAIGN
Campaign stalwarts Kmart, CVS/pharmacy, ANN INC., Kay
Jewelers and Domino’s joined by new partners The Limited,
Areas USA, Inc., and long-time supporter
Chili's Grill & Bar
For
more than a decade St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital has
transformed the holiday shopping season into a time of
raising awareness and funds for the ongoing battle to end
childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The
St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign
unites celebrities,
media, retail and corporate partners in asking consumers to
donate while they shop and support the lifesaving mission of
St. Jude.
What began as a holiday-focused fundraising
effort by St. Jude has now grown into an annual tradition
that has raised more than $487 million over the past 10
years to help St. Jude provide cutting-edge treatment and
pursue visionary research. These funds are critical given
that no family ever pays St. Jude for anything.
“What makes the St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign
so unique and successful,” said Marlo Thomas, “is how deeply
embedded it has become in the public consciousness during
the holidays. After 10 incredible years, this groundbreaking
program has now become instantly associated with the
humanity and good will of the holiday season--which was our
original goal.” Ms. Thomas is the National Outreach Director
for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the
co-creator of the St. Jude Thanks
and Givingcampaign.
Ramping up Thanksgiving week and running
through the end of December*, consumers can
support St. Jude while they shop at a variety of businesses
representing a cross-section of premier brands in retail,
restaurant, travel, hospitality, media and beyond. Topreturning
campaign partners include Kmart, CVS/pharmacy, ANN INC., Kay
Jewelers, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Domino’s, Williams-Sonoma,
Inc., GNC, HomeGoods, AutoZone, New York & Company, Dollar
General, Brooks Brothers and GameStop, to name a few.
“The generous support we receive year after
year from our amazing partners is so important to us,
because it allows us to continue to keep my father’s
founding promise that no family ever receives a bill from
St. Jude--not for treatment, travel, housing or food. That’s
because we believe all a family should worry about is
helping their child live,” Ms. Thomas added.
New partners joining the campaign this year include The
Limited; Areas USA, Inc.; Mark & Graham and
Rejuvenation, both divisions of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.; Field
& Stream (DICK’S Sporting Goods); and long-time St. Jude
supporter Chili's Grill & Barwho
is expanding its efforts to year-round support for St. Jude,
including the
holiday season.
Last year, Kmart raised $21.9 million –
setting a new record for fundraising by a single St. Jude
partner. Since becoming a partner in 2006, Kmart has raised
more than $59.2 million in support of the mission of St.
Jude.
“Kmart’s long history of success in
supporting charitable causes is due to the generosity of our
Shop Your Way members, customers and associates,” said
Alasdair James, president and chief member officer at Kmart.
“We’re proud of the impact our results have made for the
families of St. Jude and thankful to St. Jude for its
tireless work to defeat cancer and other diseases in
children. St. Jude makes holiday shopping at Kmart more
rewarding and we’re excited to support an organization that
clearly means so much to our members.”
This year, St. Jude partners are expanding
and supporting the
campaign in a variety of ways – from in-store fundraising to
unique cross-promotions and online/mobile features.
Highlights include:
· Partners
celebrating a 10-year milestone this year include
Williams-Sonoma, Inc., HSN, Brooks Brothers, Destination XL,
American Kiosk Management, Westfield Malls, The Melting Pot,
American Airlines and Domino’s.
· Brooks
Brothers will host its annual holiday celebration in its
flagship store in New York City as well as Los Angeles.
· Customers
can now donate via the pin pad at the register at Best Buy
and Christopher & Banks locations nationwide.
· Several
partners will offer product during the holidays to benefit
St. Jude including Anna’s Linens, Ann Taylor, Brooks
Brothers, HomeGoods, HSN, Kmart, New York & Company, TUMI,
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and their family of brands, to name a
few.
· Kay
Jewelers® will
once again offer its popular plush campaign, benefitting St.
Jude, this year featuring Kip, a cuddly gray puppy, and
Kenny, an adorable white bear.
· Domino’s
and Coca-Cola have partnered on a St. Jude Meal Deal,
offering customers the opportunity to order and make a
donation to St. Jude.
· Chili’s® Grill
& Bar has joined the St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign
this year and is leveraging the brand’s new Ziosk® tabletop
devices to generate donations and awareness for St. Jude.
Starting Nov. 24, guests can simply add a donation amount of
their choice directly to the check when using Ziosk at any
participating Chili’s restaurant nationwide.
· Mazda
will honor Danny Thomas and St. Jude again this year with
their Mazda Drive for Good campaign and Holiday Game Changer
television commercial. The company will donate $150 for
every new Mazda purchased or leased from Nov. 21, 2014
through Jan. 2, 2015 to St. Jude or one of the other
participating charities.
· GameStop
will accept St. Jude donations at company owned Spring
Mobile, Cricket and Simply Mac locations, and additionally
will promote the campaign via their online and print brands
EBGames, kongregate.com, BuyMyTronics.com, Micromania and
Gameinformer.com.
· American
Airlines and Delta Air Lines will promote the St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign
via in-flight video promotion, inclusion in their in-flight
magazines and social media support.
· National
theater partners including Regal Entertainment Group, AMC
Theatres and Carmike Cinemas will showcase a star-studded
St. Jude Thanks
and Giving trailer
to promote awareness throughout the campaign.
“For more than a decade we have celebrated
the success of the St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign,
thanks to exceptional partnerships with 60 corporate partner
brands and the generosity of donors who shop with them,”
said Richard Shadyac Jr., president and CEO of ALSAC/St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Our partners
continuously find new and innovative ways to encourage their
customers to support the St. Jude mission, and this year is
no exception. St. Jude has helped push the overall childhood
cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent, and our
partners’ unwavering support in raising funds and awareness
helps ensure that St. Jude can do everything possible to
drive survival rates to 90 percent in the next decade.”
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is
leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats
childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The
hospital freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, so every
child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists
worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more
children.
The St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign
asks people to "Give thanks for the healthy kids in your
life, and give to those who are not” in order to help St.
Jude continue its mission of finding cures and saving children.
To join the fight against childhood cancer this holiday
season:
· Donate
at
www.stjude.org and visit
the site to learn more.
· Shop
with participating businesses and donate at the register.
Visit www.stjude.org for
a complete list of partners.
· Follow
St. Jude on social media and share your support during the
St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign.
· Participate
in the St. Jude Give
thanks. Walk.TM,
the official kickoff event for the St. Jude Thanks
and Giving campaign
held on Saturday, Nov. 22, in more than 65 communities
nationwide. This exciting, family-friendly event helps raise
funds to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude.
National series sponsors are Target and American Airlines.
Visit www.givethankswalk.org
for a complete list of locations.
*Some brands begin campaigns outside the
Thanksgiving to Dec. 31 timeframe.
About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital:
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the
world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and
other life-threatening diseases. St. Jude has the world’s
best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood
cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped
push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20
percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years
ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate
for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St.
Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, and every
child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists
worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more
children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for
treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family
should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St.
Jude mission by visiting www.stjude.org or
following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.
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