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MINNEAPOLIS – Thrivent announced today that Bradford (Brad) N. Creswell has been appointed to serve on Thrivent’s board of directors. He will join the board along with 12 other directors. Creswell’s term became effective on February 1, 2018.

The Thrivent board of directors is responsible for overseeing all matters pertaining to the not-for-profit, Fortune 500 membership organization. Thrivent’s mission is to help Christians on their wise with money journey. The organization serves more than 2 million members and has $136 billion in assets under management and advisement (as of 12/31/17).

“We are pleased to have Brad join the board of directors and know his professional experience will add an important perspective,” said Thrivent CEO Brad Hewitt. “Brad is passionate about advancing Thrivent’s mission to help Christians on the wise with money journey and is committed to steering our organization forward as we look at ways to best serve our members.”

Creswell will serve on the Audit and Thrivent Holdings Committees of the board.

Creswell is co-founder and managing partner of NCA Partners LLC, a private equity firm located in Seattle. He was previously a vice president at Bankers Trust & Company. Creswell began his career at Arthur Young working in the audit department. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound and a master’s degree in business administration from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Creswell is currently a board member for two privately held portfolio companies, PTW Energy Services Ltd, and Apply A Line, LLC. He also serves as director and chair of the Audit Committee for the Reading Partners national board and has been appointed director and acting interim chair of the Reading Partners Seattle regional board. Creswell was previously on the regional board of the Thrivent Member Network – Northwest Region.

To learn more about Thrivent’s Board of Directors and read board member biographies, visit: www.thrivent.com/governance.

About Thrivent
Thrivent is a not-for-profit membership organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously. It offers its more than 2 million member-owners a broad range of products, services and guidance nationwide. For more than a century it has helped members make wise money choices that reflect their values while providing them opportunities to demonstrate their generosity where they live, work and worship. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Through numerous acts of generosity, Thrivent, along with more than 30,000 of its members and other individuals across the country, raised and donated more than $11.7 million and contributed approximately 136,000 hours of volunteer time to help those impacted by the 2017 hurricanes.

“When devastation strikes, Thrivent members step up to make a difference,” said Brad Hewitt, CEO of Thrivent. “We are hopeful these efforts will help people in storm-affected areas get the supplies and resources they need to start rebuilding and recovering.”

Thrivent members inspire with their generosity
Thrivent members and others across the country made personal donations to nine disaster response agencies, totaling an impressive cumulative amount of $2.97 million. These funds were matched dollar for dollar by Thrivent. Members also directed more than $1.13 million through the Thrivent Choice® program, a charitable granting program that allows eligible Thrivent members to recommend where Thrivent gives some of its charitable funds each year. This collective impact generated $7.1 million to help people in need after a record hurricane season.

Thrivent members take action
Beyond personal donations, Thrivent members spearheaded 1,200 Thrivent Action Teams in their individual communities to help raise an additional $1.64 million. Believing that positive change begins with taking action, these teams gave more than 136,000 hours of their time to organize projects directly benefiting those affected by these storms.

Participating in Thrivent Action Teams allow members to put their faith into action. With Thrivent’s support, eligible members are provided with promotional collateral, t-shirts and a $250 Community Impact Card that can be used as seed money to purchase project supplies and create materials.

Teaming up with Habitat for Humanity
To extend the impact of members’ efforts, Thrivent served as a keystone partner of Habitat Hammers Back, a repair and rebuilding initiative for communities impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. On behalf of the organization’s members, Thrivent gave a $1 million grant to the Habitat Hammers Back initiative. However, due to the tremendous work and cleanup in the wake of these storms, Thrivent provided an additional $2 million through a long-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity. These funds will allow Thrivent members and others to travel in the coming years to affected areas and volunteer alongside families who need assistance.

In total, the $11.7 million will support a wide range of recovery and rebuilding efforts, including helping nine organizations providing aid on ground. For more information on how to get involved and continue to make a difference, visit LiveGenerously.com/HurricaneResponse.

About Thrivent Financial
Thrivent is a not-for-profit membership organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously. It offers its more than 2 million member-owners a broad range of products, services and guidance nationwide. For more than a century it has helped members make wise money choices that reflect their values while providing them opportunities to demonstrate their generosity where they live, work and worship. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thrivent announced today that Bonnie Raquet has been elected by her peers on the board to serve as the chair of the Thrivent Financial Board of Directors, making her the first female in the organization’s history to hold this prestigious appointment. She will lead the board along with 13 other directors. Raquet’s term became effective on Feb. 1, 2018, when she replaced former chair Frank H. (Dick) Moeller.

The Thrivent board of directors is responsible for overseeing all matters pertaining to the not-for-profit, Fortune 500 membership organization. Thrivent’s mission is to help Christians on their wise with money journey. The organization serves more than 2 million members and has $116 billion in assets under management and advisement (as of Dec. 31, 2016).

“Bonnie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role of the chair of our board of directors, and we look forward to her continued leadership,” said Thrivent CEO Brad Hewitt. “We are also proud that Bonnie has been named the first female chair of the board in our organization’s history. This is a monumental moment that we celebrate.”

Raquet has been a Thrivent board member since 2010, serving as chair of the Thrivent Church Solutions Committee and as a member of the Executive as well as Human Resource and Governance Committees.

Raquet was previously a corporate vice president at Cargill from 2000 to 2011, where she led the company’s global corporate affairs activities spanning government relations, media, communications, brand management, marketing services and corporate responsibility. She first joined Cargill as an attorney in 1982.

Raquet was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade in 2008. She is a member of the Global Advisory Council of TechnoServe Inc. and after serving as interim chair of the board of directors for the World Food Program USA, she is now vice chair and chair of the governance committee. In addition, Raquet is vice chair of the board of directors of Valparaiso University.

Three incumbents reelected to board of directors
Alice Richter, F. Mark Kuhlmann and Mark Jeske were all reelected to the board of directors in 2017. Richter has been a member of the board since May 2007 and serves on the Executive and Thrivent Church Solutions Committees. With the board since 2006, Kuhlmann is chair of the Human Resource and Governance Committee and a member of the Executive and Thrivent Holdings Committees. Finally, Jeske was appointed to the board in May 2011 and currently serves on the Human Resource and Governance as well as Thrivent Church Solutions Committees.

Two directors retire from board due to term limits
Allan R. Spies and Frank H. (Dick) Moeller are retiring from the board of directors due to term limits. Moeller served on Thrivent’s board since 2005 and is the departing chair of the board. Spies, who has also served since 2005, was a member of the Audit and Thrivent Church Solutions Committees.

“We are deeply grateful for the many and varied contributions of our directors over the years,” said Hewitt. “As we move into 2018, we look forward to working with our board as we continue to help Christians on their wise with money journey and supporting them in leading meaningful, generous lives.”

For more information on the Thrivent Financial Board of Directors and to read board member biographies, visit: https://www.thrivent.com/governance/leadership-biographies/#board.

About Thrivent Financial
Thrivent is a not-for-profit membership organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously. It offers its more than 2 million member-owners a broad range of products, services and guidance nationwide. For more than a century it has helped members make wise money choices that reflect their values while providing them opportunities to demonstrate their generosity where they live, work and worship. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

MINNEAPOLIS, – Young people are often stereotyped as entitled, but surprisingly most students feel they bear the burden of paying for college. According to the State of Student Debt in America™ 2017 report conducted for Thrivent Student Loan Resources, the majority of college students (68%) agree they should be the ones paying for all or most of their college education. Additional key themes emerged from the survey:

Although a majority of students agree they are responsible for paying for college, many are not prepared to do so.
Most students still expect to spend excessively on maintaining a high-quality lifestyle during the college years.
A majority of students and parents wish they spoke about college costs more often and feel financial stress much more than earning good grades or performing well on ACT/SAT.
Both students and parents agree that working around 20 hours a week should be expected as a way to pay for college.

Parents and students unprepared for college costs
Students may individually feel the onus is on them to pay for college because their parents are unprepared. In fact, nearly 1 in 3 parents (30 percent) surveyed didn’t save anything for their child’s college education, and 34 percent only started saving five or fewer years before their child started school. Students are nearly on the same page as their parents, as about a quarter (26 percent) of students who expect to rely, or are currently relying on their family to pay for college, think their family didn’t save for their education.

“When families have a plan to pay for college, they save more and students borrow less to complete their degrees,” said Susan Farrell, vice president at Thrivent Student Loan Resources. “Making a plan to pay for college is the first thing we encourage families to do when they start thinking about college for their kids. We’ve found that families save three times more when they have a plan for college as opposed to those who don’t.”

Students confident they are prepared to manage costs, but are they?
Moreover, 62 percent of college students feel confident they are fully prepared to manage the cost of college. While this may sound encouraging, the data actually suggests students might be under-estimating what it truly takes to tackle the financial demands of college. As an example: parents are more aware of the fine print that comes with financial aid paperwork than the students who will own those loan payments. In fact, fewer than 1 in 4 (23 percent) students have read more than 75 percent of their student loan documents, while half of parents (50 percent) have read more than 75 percent.

“These findings validate what many of us have been saying about financing a college education,” said Adam Carroll, national thought-leader on college funding and co-creative producer of the film on student debt, Broke, Busted & Disgusted. “Students and parents need to start talking early and often about preparing and paying for college. Young people need to hear their options over and over — this is not just a ‘one and done’ conversation.”

Communication is key to easing stress about paying for college
The stress faced by students is shared by their parents. Nearly 3 in 5 (57 percent) students who don’t plan to rely exclusively on scholarships or grants feel more stressed about paying for college than their parents, while more than half of parents (51 percent) feel they’re more stressed than their children.

Opening the lines of communication is key to reducing stress and ensuring students really are prepared for the realities of college costs. And students desire that dialogue to happen regularly. The survey found the majority of students (70 percent) wish their families spoke with them about college costs more often.

So, who bears the responsibility of having those awkward-but-necessary talks about paying for college? The answer is up for debate: 80 percent of parents feel it’s their or other family members’ job to teach kids about managing the cost of college, compared to only 51 percent of students who feel this way.

Many students unaware of scholarship opportunities
Many students don’t realize that scholarships are available beyond just pre-enrollment years. When asked when college students should apply for scholarships, 83 percent of students felt they should do so before beginning their freshman year. Yet, only 32 percent felt students should apply for scholarships during their senior year, only 39 percent in junior year, 41 percent during sophomore year and 44 percent during freshman year.

Parents and students agree: students should work while in college
Both students and their parents agree that students should work while in school. However, students feel stronger about this than parents do. In fact, 78 percent of students, compared to 70 percent of parents, believe students should have jobs during college to help cover the costs.

On average, parents and students are aligned on how much a student should work – with each feeling students should work an average of 19 hours a week while in school to help pay for their education.

Students expect quality of life in college to be the same as before college
Students also need to come to grips with the fact their quality of life may need to change during college. The majority of students (63 percent) believe their quality of life in college should be the same as it was before college. While it’s not impossible for students to have it all and contribute, they will need a sound savings plan to support their optimistic outlook for college.

Most students who plan to establish a college budget have accounted for, or plan to account for, must-have items such as textbooks (82 percent) and transportation (59 percent). But they’ll need help prioritizing the non-essentials, as only than a third (34 percent) are accounting for and budgeting for entertainment and 18 percent for vacations, such as spring break. Students may have unrealistic expectations when it comes to maintaining the same quality of life before college – and this is evidenced by the fact that the majority are not developing comprehensive budgets.

Thrivent Student Loan Resources, through an initiative called “It’s Time for New School Lending,” helps students with resources and tips get back to living like students, making more wise money choices while attending college, so debt is minimized and paid off quicker following graduation. They are also providing the movie Broke, Busted, and Disgusted for free online to students and parents to help start a conversation and provide ideas on preparing and paying for college.

More information about the survey results can be found at https://www.thriventstudentloanresources.com/methodology. To learn more about how to finance your or your child’s college education or to request the Broke, Busted, and Disgusted movie, please visit the Thrivent Student Loan Resources website at www.thriventstudentloanresources.com.

Note About Methodology
Thrivent Student Loan Resources’ 2017 State of Student Debt in America report was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 students – with quotas set for 500 rising college freshmen and 500 college students, sophomores or higher – and among 500 parents of current college students or rising college freshmen between July 31 and August 9, 2017, using an email invitation and an online survey.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points for the student sample and 4.4 percentage points for the parents sample from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

About Thrivent Student Loan Resources
Thrivent Student Loan Resources is dedicated to helping college-bound students and their families take steps toward a healthier relationship with money as they plan for their future, pay for college, and prepare for life after graduation. Regardless of where someone is on their education journey, Thrivent Student Loan Resources is committed to providing families with comprehensive guidance – including resources, tools and products – in a way that is approachable and actionable. The organization believes private loans are the final part of the equation to pay for college and should be taken after careful consideration and with a plan to pay them off as quickly as possible after graduation. Thrivent Student Loan Resources is part of Thrivent Financial, a not-for-profit membership organization whose mission is to help Christians make financial decisions that reflect their values. For more information, visit Thriventstudentloanresources.com. You can also find us on Facebook.

About Wakefield Research
Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) is a leading, independent provider of quantitative, qualitative, and hybrid market research. Wakefield Research supports the world’s most prominent brands and agencies, including 50 of the Fortune 100, in 70 countries.

About Thrivent Financial
Thrivent is a not-for-profit membership organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously. It offers its more than 2 million member-owners a broad range of products, services and guidance nationwide. For more than a century it has helped members make wise money choices that reflect their values while providing them opportunities to demonstrate their generosity where they live, work and worship. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Stamford, Conn., The Coca-Cola Company, Nestlé Waters North America, the PepsiCo Foundation and the Walmart Foundation today announced that they have partnered to fund an integrated recycling education and awareness initiative for the 10,000 school students affected by the Flint water crisis, led by national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and its local Flint, Michigan, affiliate Keep Genesee County Beautiful (KGCB).

In January 2016, the four companies announced they would provide up to 6.5 million bottles of safe and clean drinking water to Flint school students. From the outset of the program, they have been providing for the storage and delivery of the bottled water, as well as the transporting of the empty water bottles for recycling.

The new initiative provides funding for a multi-tiered educational approach aimed at increasing the number of plastic bottles that are recycled within school grounds as well as create opportunities to provide students, teachers and staff with the knowledge and the passion to recycle at home, at school and on-the-go.

“Keep America Beautiful is thrilled to receive broad support from a host of partners in our efforts to educate, motivate and activate Flint’s students, teachers and the broader school community to properly recycle the tremendous amount of material that is being generated,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “This is a great opportunity for us to work closely with Keep Genesee County Beautiful to make a meaningful difference in improving recycling throughout Flint and to teach the next generation of environmental stewards the benefits of recycling and how to recycle right.”

The K-12 school-based program objectives are to:
Provide outreach, tools, resources and activities to educate, motivate and activate students, staff and teachers to recycle more and recycle right;
Organize, support and share resources with recycling champions at each school to support day-to-day recycling efforts;
Share best practices and support school personnel responsible for collecting and consolidating recycling at each school on proper recycling bin placement, signage and collection of the recyclables; and
Track and report the amount of recyclables being collected by the schools with the goal of achieving a 25 percent increase in recycling.
“Promoting recycling education and infrastructure to Flint schools in partnership with Keep America Beautiful is important and something we are actively engaged in,” said Aaron Stallings, Walmart Market Manager for the North Central Division. “We see this program contributing to a more resilient and sustainable Flint.”

“The Coca-Cola Company understands the importance of ongoing support for the residents of the City of Flint. Providing water for daily use was the first step and the promotion of recycling and recycling education round out this support,” said Bruce Karas, Vice President, Environment and Sustainability, The Coca-Cola Company North America. “We must all do our part to ensure that residents’ needs are met and the City of Flint returns to the viable and vibrant city we all know it can be.”

“Water is a human right and as soon as the PepsiCo team learned about Flint and their drinking water supply, we reached out to be part of creating sustainable, local solutions,” said Tim Carey, Senior Director Sustainability and Recycling, PepsiCo. “We all want to be part of communities with abundant natural resources so PepsiCo is pleased to support the City of Flint and other partners to give back to Genesee County. We’re striving to collect every bottle and every can as part of this powerful partnership.”

“Access to clean, safe drinking water is the right of every man, woman and child. That is why helping our neighbors in Flint is something we’ve been proud to do,” said Nelson Switzer, Chief Sustainability Officer for Nestlé Waters North America. “But our shared commitment doesn’t end there. We now need to work together so the bottles the coalition used to deliver safe drinking water are recovered and recycled. Together with our coalition partners and the families of Flint, we are very pleased to kick-start a massive recycling opportunity.”

Keep America Beautiful is working in tandem with KGCB to tailor the recycling educational lesson plans, tools and activities for Flint’s students, while ongoing recycling education and program implementation is being conducted by KGCB staff and volunteers. Resources include take-home materials in an effort to bring the school education and experience home, reaching families in their residences to also enhance curbside recycling participation.

“Since this crisis began, Keep Genesee County Beautiful has been the ‘go-to’ recycling resource for the Flint community. We help Flint residents cope with the water crisis by raising awareness and educating residents about the benefits of recycling, by signing up residents for curbside recycling and being a pickup point for recycling bins,” said Karen West, Program Director/Lead Consultant, KGCB. “We are incredibly grateful for this financial support and appreciate the opportunity to work with Keep America Beautiful and the students and staff of Flint schools to encourage, educate and engage the community in recycling.”

Keep America Beautiful is providing materials from its Waste in Place curriculum; its “I Want To Be Recycled” public service advertising campaign; Recycle-Bowl, its national in-school K-12 recycling competition; America Recycles Day and other resources as part of the overall programming to improve the in-school recycling rate.

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly 260 million customers and members visit our 11,528 stores under 72 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2016 revenue of $482.1 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.

About Philanthropy at Walmart
By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. We have stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.3 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. We are helping people live better by accelerating upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where we operate and inspiring our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program in Bangladesh, China, India and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit foundation.walmart.com.

About PepsiCo Foundation
Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation works with non-profit partners to develop innovative, sustainable solutions that address challenges in underserved communities around the world. The Foundation, along with PepsiCo and its employees, seeks to catalyze efforts that advance our Performance with Purpose 2025 goals related to increasing access to positive nutrition, providing access to safe water and enabling young women to progress through school and be successful in the workforce. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship

About Nestle Waters North America
Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as Nestlé® Pure Life®, Ice Mountain®, Poland Spring®, Perrier® and S.Pellegrino® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with about 8,500 employees nationwide, Nestlé Waters is committed to reducing its environmental footprint across operations. As a natural resource company, Nestlé Waters sustainably manage about 40 spring sites, as well as nearly 14,000 acres of watershed as open space. The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates in the U.S.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands and more than 3,800 beverage choices. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, 18 of which are available in reduced-, low- or no-calorie options. Our billion-dollar brands include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del Valle, Georgia and Gold Peak. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, we are the No. 1 provider of both sparkling and still beverages. More than 1.9 billion servings of our beverages are enjoyed by consumers in more than 200 countries each day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.

About Keep Genesee County Beautiful
Keep Genesee Beautiful encourages, educates and engages residents in creating beautiful, clean, sustainable neighborhoods, parks and open spaces throughout the City of Flint and Genesee County. Our goal is to improve communities, their environment and quality of life, by cultivating personal responsibility in our citizens, with recycling being an essential part of that goal. Keep Genesee County Beautiful became Michigan’s first affiliate of Keep America Beautiful in April 2004, has received the prestigious national President’s Circle Award for 12 consecutive years and is one of this year’s Keep America Beautiful National Innovation Award winners. In January 2016, KGCB became an official program of the Genesee County Parks.

Montvale, NJ – GIVING MOORE, a foundation of Benjamin Moore & Co., and The American Institute of Architects Foundation today announced its 2017 Diversity Advancement Scholarship program. The scholarship provides assistance to individuals from a minority race or ethnicity pursuing a professional degree in architecture recognized by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Two students will be selected to win one $5,000 scholarship each in 2017 and an additional $5,000 each per year for up to five years of their undergraduate architectural studies.

Qualified high school seniors planning to attend school for architecture and first-year college students currently enrolled in a NAAB-accredited architecture program are encouraged to apply. Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and will be required to provide two examples of their creative work, high school transcripts, a personal essay and two letters of recommendation, among other requirements. To apply, visit http://www.architectsfoundation.org/education/the-diversity-advancement-scholarship/. Winners will be notified in April 2017.

“Benjamin Moore & Co. and the GIVING MOORE Foundation are committed to supporting education initiatives for students of interior design and architecture,” said Mike Searles, CEO of Benjamin Moore & Co. and Chairman of GIVING MOORE. “We are thrilled to partner once again with The American Institute of Architects Foundation and fund the Diversity Advancement Scholarship program. We look forward to seeing all that these students bring from their diverse backgrounds to a field that is changing the landscape of North America.”

“The American Institute of Architects Foundation is grateful for the support of GIVING MOORE in funding the Diversity Advancement Scholarships,” said Jeff Potter, Foundation Board President of the Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects. “The program was launched in 1970 and it is because of partners like GIVING MOORE that we have been able to provide 2,300 minority architectural students with financial assistance over the last 46 years.”

For the second year, GIVING MOORE has supported three Diversity Advancement Scholarship recipients. Additionally, GIVING MOORE is continuing its support of the 2015 winners and they will be provided financial assistance throughout the remaining time in their current five-year programs. To learn more about the Diversity Advancement Scholarship program and how to apply please visit www.architectsfoundation.org/education.

About Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore & Co., a Berkshire Hathaway company, was founded in 1883. One of North America’s leading manufacturers of premium quality residential, commercial and industrial maintenance coatings, Benjamin Moore & Co. maintains a relentless commitment to innovation and sustainable manufacturing practices. The Benjamin Moore premium portfolio spans the brand’s flagship paint lines including Aura®, Regal® Select, Natura®, and ben®. The Benjamin Moore & Co. Family of Brands includes specialty and architectural paints from Coronado®, Lenmar® and Insl-x®. Benjamin Moore & Co. coatings are available primarily from its more than 5,000 locally owned and operated paint and decorating retailers.

Charitable Giving at Benjamin Moore & Co.
Benjamin Moore & Co. and GIVING MOORE, a Foundation of Benjamin Moore & Co., are committed to the communities they serve. Together their giving is driven by two guiding principles inclusive of fostering and preserving the value of home and building sustainable communities. Through financial and in-kind donations, the company and GIVING MOORE are able to support numerous national and regional nonprofits that embody these core values including AIA Architects Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Historic House Trust, The Mission Continues and YouthBuild®, among others. Additionally, teams of Benjamin Moore employee volunteers give thousands of hours each year to charities across North America.

COMPTON, Calif., — Four hundred Compton families facing economic hardship will receive enough food to supplement meals for a week plus daily essentials, thanks to a partnership between PepsiCo, the Magic Johnson Foundation and Feed the Children. The event kicks off at 11 a.m. at Compton Unified School District Headquarters, 417 W. Alondra Blvd., Compton.

Today’s distribution event is part of a larger initiative between PepsiCo and Feed the Children in cities throughout the United States. In Compton, more than 26 percent of families live below the poverty line. As the holiday season fast approaches, this event will allow families to reallocate their limited resources.              
                                                                                                                                
The receiving families have been identified and preselected by the Compton Unified School District Headquarters, a local nonprofit organization.

“We believe no child should go to bed hungry in a land where there is plenty of food,” said Travis Arnold, Feed the Children Interim CEO/President and COO. “But the reality is, millions of boys and girls, right here in our own backyard, face this hardship every day. Thanks to our generous partners, PepsiCo and the Magic Johnson Foundation, today we are able to help these families rest a little easier knowing they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.”

Each qualifying recipient family will be given:
One 25-pound box of nonperishable food items
One 15-pound box of personal-care items
One box of AVON products
Disney books
Frito-Lay snacks
PepsiCo beverages
Tropicana Juice
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Quaker Standard Oats

“PepsiCo is grateful for the opportunity to give something back to the Compton community through donating and volunteering our time at this wonderful event,” said Phil Schmich, director of distribution sales, PepsiCo Food Service.  “We are passionate about creating an inclusive environment within the communities where we live and work, in an effort to make a positive impact.”
“The holidays are always a difficult time for families who are facing financial difficulty. We have been committed to these families for 20 years. We are so thankful that our partnership with PepsiCo and Feed the Children is allowing us to go above and beyond this holiday season with all of the additional wonderful items that will be given to families. We know that this will make a tremendous impact on the lives of 400 families,” said Shane Jenkins, vice president of the Magic Johnson Foundation.

About Feed the Children
Established in 1979, Feed the Children exists to end child hunger. It is one of the largest U.S.-based charities and serves those in need in the U.S. and in 10 countries around the world. It provides food, education, essentials and disaster relief. Domestically, it operates 5 distribution centers (located in Oklahoma, Indiana, California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania).
In fiscal year 2015, Feed the Children distributed 107 million pounds of food and essentials valued at $302 million to people in the U.S., and internationally, it sponsored nearly 24,500 children, addressing the root causes of poverty through sponsorship of children, communities and schools. It is accredited by GuideStar Exchange, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and is rated by Charity Navigator.
Visit www.feedthechildren.org for more information.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2015, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth and shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com/

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Red Cross remains on the ground, with volunteers across nearly half of the state of Louisiana helping the thousands of people who have lost everything they own in the devastating flooding last week. But the relief organization reports a significant gap in funds raised.

To date, the Red Cross has received approximately $7.8 million in donations and pledges designated to support Louisiana – not nearly enough to cover the estimate of at least $30 million in costs.

“This intense storm wasn’t given a name, but it affected as many as 110,000 homes in Louisiana and has changed countless lives forever,” said Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Services Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. “The situation in Louisiana remains critical. People need help, and they need it now. The Red Cross is providing for immediate needs like food and shelter, and will be there during the clean-up and recovery.”

“The last time this country saw a disaster this devastating was Superstorm Sandy in 2012,” Kieserman said. “Today, we are sounding the alarm to urge people to make a financial donation to help our friends and neighbors in Louisiana.”

Learn more here how the Red Cross is giving people a place to go when there is no place to go through the words of one woman who has lost everything.

More than 1,900 Red Cross workers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are supporting the relief effort, along with hundreds of local residents. In addition to providing food and shelter, Red Cross volunteers are providing emotional support to help people cope. Health services volunteers are monitoring the health needs of people in shelters and replacing things like lost wheelchairs, eyeglasses and medications.

It’s been more than a week since the floodwaters destroyed and damaged thousands of homes and together with local, state and national partners, the Red Cross has already:

Served more than 260,000 meals and snacks.
Distributed more than 60,000 relief items.
Provided more than 40,000 overnight stays in emergency shelters. Sunday night almost 3,000 people were still seeking refuge in 19 Red Cross and community shelters.
Handled more than 17,000 calls from people seeking information and help.
HOW TO HELP Help people affected by the Louisiana Floods by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters.

CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.

ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Boise Paper; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Disney; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx Corporation; The Home Depot Foundation; Humble Bundle; LDS Charities; Lowe’s Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Merck Foundation; Nationwide Foundation; State Farm; Target; UPS; VSP℠ Vision care for life; and Walmart and the Walmart Foundation.

ADGP $500,000 members are: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bank of America; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Farmers Insurance; Ford Motor Company; Grainger; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; Medtronic; Meijer; Mondelēz International Foundation; National Grid; PepsiCo Foundation; Prudential Foundation; Ryder; Southwest Airlines; Sprint; Sunoco; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; United Technologies Corporation; Visa; Wawa; and Wells Fargo.

Disaster Responder Program members are: Alcoa; Almost Family; Astellas USA Foundation; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AXA; Ball Foundation; BNY Mellon; CarMax; The Clorox Company; Cox Automotive; DTE Energy Foundation; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; General Motors Foundation; Harbor Freight Tools; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; Hi-Rez Studios; HP Foundation; IBM Corporation; IKEA; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; Interstate All Battery Center; Land O’Lakes, Inc.; MetLife Foundation; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; PSEG Foundation; PuroClean Disaster Recovery; Red Heart Yarns; ScriptRelief; Sealed Air; SERVPRO; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; T O Y O T A; U.S. Bank; and U-Haul International.

Florham Park, NJ, Committed to providing parents with resources about the importance of combining good nutrition with activities to support children’s early brain and language development, Too Small to Fail (Too Small), Scholastic, National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), Barbershop Books, Spotify and Gerber Products Company partnered to develop the Meal Time is Talk Time Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action. The commitment – launched at the sixth annual CGI America meeting – provides a nutritional component to the cognitive and language development work done by Too Small to Fail, highlighting the connection between good nutrition and early brain development. Over the course of a year, 100,000 children in underserved communities nationwide will receive a bilingual nutrition-themed children’s book as part of the program. The children’s book, At the Farmer’s Market, funded by a $200,000 grant from Gerber, will include customized messages on the back cover to help families engage in language-rich interactions about healthy foods during everyday moments and promotes mealtime conversations. To complement the book, Spotify will develop a special curated Gerber musical playlist that includes songs emphasizing nutritious foods, healthy eating habits and family mealtimes.

Almost 60 percent of American children start kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers in critical language, math and social-emotional skills. “We know that nutrition plays a critical role in cognitive development which is fundamental to developing skills needed for academic and social-emotional successes. This partnership brings together a roster of truly amazing organizations dedicated toward the health and overall success of children. Gerber is excited to lend its nutritional expertise on the first 1,000 days of life, a critical time for setting up children on a healthy trajectory,” said Dr. Wendy Johnson-Askew.

Scholastic’s At the Farmer’s Market/En el Mercado, authored by Anna W. Bardaus and illustrated by Steffane McClary, exposes children to seasonal fruits and vegetables. The bilingual (English/Spanish) book will be distributed to Too Small’s local cities campaigns and through NBCDI’s affiliate networks across the US, including NBCDI’s Good for Me nutrition education program for young children. Barbershop Books will also make the book available through its growing network of child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops across the country. Together, Gerber, Scholastic and Too Small will leverage their respective digital platforms to raise awareness of the program and engage families around Meal Time is Talk Time.

About Gerber
Gerber, founded in 1928, is a Nestlé products company. Nestlé and Gerber’s combined resources and scientific research expertise have enabled the company to become a worldwide leader in early childhood nutrition. Gerber produces more than 400 food products, all of which are a part of the proprietary Gerber® Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ nutrition system. The Gerber® Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ nutrition system combines products, educational resources and services that are designed to encourage the early establishment of healthy eating habits in children from birth to preschool.

About Too Small To Fail
Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of the Clinton Foundation and The Opportunity Institute, is leading a public awareness and action campaign to promote the importance of early brain and language development and to empower parents with tools to talk, read, and sing with their young children from birth. Today, almost 60 percent of children in the United States start kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers in critical language, math, and social-emotional skills. Through partnerships with pediatricians, hospitals, faith-based leaders, community based organizations, businesses, entertainment industry leaders, and others, Too Small to Fail is meeting parents where they are to help them prepare their children for success in school and beyond. Whether at the pediatrician’s office or the playground, Too Small to Fail aims to make small moments big by creating opportunities for meaningful interactions anytime, anywhere.

About Clinton Global Initiative America
Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America brings together leaders from the business, philanthropic, nonprofit, and government sectors to develop solutions that encourage economic growth, support long-term competitiveness, and increase social mobility in the United States. CGI America’s annual convening is designed to be a working meeting that promotes collaboration. Each CGI America participant makes a Commitment to Action: a new, specific, and measurable plan that supports increased economic growth and opportunity. To date, CGI America participants have made nearly 600 commitments, which have improved the lives of more than 4.9 million people.

Istanbul, Turkey, 23 May 2016 – The World Economic Forum, MasterCard and the GSMA join together at the World Humanitarian Summit, held this week in Istanbul on 23-24 May, to commit to lead initiatives that will improve the way people receive humanitarian assistance in the form of diverse payments following a crisis.

Following the UN Secretary-General’s call for cash-based assistance to become the preferred method to support people in emergencies wherever possible, these commitments represent a major step to enable the scaling-up of a variety of payments in humanitarian situations.

In the lead-up to the World Humanitarian Summit, business consultations with the private sector and humanitarian agencies have resulted in a series of recommendations on how the private sector and humanitarian community could work together as partners. As a result, the partners are committing to the following initiatives in Istanbul:

· A global, multi-year initiative on data management and protection under the leadership of MasterCard: “The benefits of using digital payments for humanitarian aid are numerous, and perhaps the most impactful is how they put beneficiaries on the path to financial inclusion. But a critical precursor to financial inclusion is social inclusion – having an identity – a basic need that 1.5 billion people lack,” said Tara Nathan, Executive Vice-President of Public-Private Partnerships at MasterCard. “It is vitally important that we establish data and security standards and best practices to ensure everyone has an identity that empowers them to access digital aid, yet protect the very sensitive information entrusted to those who fund and deliver the aid. The data and identity initiative will tap into the experience of the private sector to accomplish this critical mission.”

· Development of Principles for Public-Private Cooperation in Humanitarian Payments facilitated by the World Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum is committing today to facilitate the Shaping of Principles for Public-Private Cooperation in Humanitarian Payments, as requested by the United Nations and the broader humanitarian community. “There is tremendous scope for the public and private sectors to collaborate more effectively in emergency situations. From successes in Pakistan more than five years ago, this growing collaboration in humanitarian payments is a clear indication of the direction of travel when it comes to delivering humanitarian assistance. The challenge now is to scale-up efficiently to help as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Cheryl Martin, Head of the Centre of Global Industries and Member of the Managing Board at the World Economic Forum.

The Forum is proud to announce the additional confirmed support of 18 leading public and private humanitarian-payments organizations in this commitment. They are: The Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP), Devex, Ericsson, GSMA, the International Rescue Committee, IPA, MasterCard, Mercy Corps, PayPal, Red Rose, SAP, Special Circumstances, Tata Consultancy Services, the United Nations, Visa, Vodafone, Women’s World Banking and Western Union.

· Expansion of the footprint and impact of the GSMA’s Humanitarian Connectivity Charter through which mobile operators commit to support humanitarian response and improve preparedness and resilience among networks in disasters: “The humanitarian crises facing our global community today are unprecedented and the unique scale and reach of mobile networks can help meet the challenges faced by humanitarian responders,” said Mats Granryd, Director-General of the GSMA. “We are announcing today that the GSMA is committed to further expanding the footprint of the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, now covering over 50 countries, and we will offer our expertise in mobile money and disaster preparedness and response to help address the opportunities and challenges of mobile money disbursements in disaster-prone countries. The challenge before us is enormous and we must work in close collaboration, leveraging technology and building sustainable partnerships to reduce suffering and preserve the dignity of those affected by crisis.”

“The World Humanitarian Summit is calling for bold commitments that will shape future humanitarian action,” said Stephen O’Brien, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “We need to better coordinate with our private-sector partners to make cash transfers one of the preferred methods for humanitarian response. We need to move relationships between the humanitarian agencies and the private sector from transactional to transformational. I congratulate our partners in these initiatives for their leadership and commitment to the new ways of working together by focusing on the core expertise of each partner with the aim to make a real difference for people in need.”

Those major breakthroughs demonstrate greater collaboration between humanitarian actors and the private sector towards the common objective of delivering more accountable, effective and people-centred humanitarian assistance.

RICHMOND, VA – CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, announces today the launch of a new, $5 million partnership with KaBOOM!. The CarMax Foundation and KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to giving kids the childhood they deserve by bringing play to those who need it most, have successfully provided 100,000 kids across the nation with access to play. This partnership aims to triple their impact by reaching a total of 300,000 children by the end of 2018. To celebrate the official coast-to-coast launch of the partnership, more than 400 volunteers will simultaneously build two new playgrounds today, April 7, in El Cajon, Calif. and Fort Worth, TX.

CarMax and KaBOOM! will provide grants to fund building or improving 79 play spaces by the end of 2018, bringing play to those most in need. In addition, CarMax is the first KaBOOM! corporate sponsor bringing play spaces to our military and veteran families over the next three years while also providing them with community support and career opportunities.

“CarMax is committed to giving back to and supporting the communities we are a part of – without them, CarMax could not be successful,” said Craig Cronheim, president of The CarMax Foundation

. “Our associates across the country will impact countless families by helping get kids moving and playing.”

This partnership will have three distinct areas of impact. First, 33 nationwide community-built playgrounds will be designed by children and built by volunteers from local partners and thousands of CarMax associates.

Second, a donation of 34 Imagination Playgrounds and 12 Rigamajigs will be made to select partner organizations. Lastly, four of these playgrounds and 12 Rigamajigs will be built in military communities and 18 of the Imagination Playgrounds will be donated to military serving non-profits over the next three years.

The CarMax Foundation focuses nationally on children’s healthy living. This focus is directed by CarMax associates who have expressed a desire to help youth in their communities get moving to live happier, healthier lives.

“The CarMax Foundation is a powerful champion for kids across America, creating wonderful opportunities for kids in need of play. The commitment and enthusiasm of CarMax associates is unsurpassed, and great things happen when they roll up their sleeves as volunteers to build playgrounds in the communities where they live, work, and play,” said James Siegal, CEO of KaBOOM!. “We are thrilled to continue our amazing partnership with CarMax for another three years and grateful that we and CarMax share a passion for ensuring all kids get the childhood they deserve filled with play.”

Join the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives on social media using #playmatters, #carmaxbuild , #ElCajon, #FtWorth and follow the work of KaBOOM! (@KaBOOM!) and CarMax (@CarMaxCares).

About The CarMax Foundation
The CarMax Foundation is designed to enrich the communities where our associates live and work and has donated more than $30 million since 2003. Funding programs are made available through a portion of CarMax, Inc.’s pre-tax profits. CarMax, a member of the FORTUNE 500 and the S&P 500, and on the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for 12 consecutive years, is the nation’s largest retailer of used vehicles. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 158 stores in 78 markets. The consumer offer features low, no haggle prices, a broad selection of CarMax Quality Certified used cars, and superior customer service. During the twelve months ended February 28, 2015, the company retailed 582,282 used vehicles and sold 376,186 wholesale vehicles at our in-store auctions. For more information, access the CarMax website at http://www.carmax.com/. For more information about The CarMax Foundation, visit foundation.carmax.com.

About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, open or improve nearly 16,300 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served 8.1 million kids. KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to promote and support play, and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and productive lives. To learn why #playmatters and why cities are embracing #playability: visit kaboom.org or join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

NEW YORK, NY — GameStop Corp., a global family of specialty retail brands that makes the most popular technologies affordable and simple, today announced a partnership with Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. Taking place throughout Autism Awareness Month, April 1 – 30, GameStop and its family of brands will participate in a fundraising and awareness campaign to benefit Autism Speaks.

This is GameStop’s first time partnering with Autism Speaks to conduct an in-store and online donation campaign. Customers at the company’s GameStop, Spring Mobile AT&T and Cricket Wireless, Simply Mac and ThinkGeek retail stores will have the opportunity to donate to Autism Speaks at point-of-purchase. The campaign will be supported by specialized in-store and online promotional materials, and online outreach through GameStop’s mobile gaming division, Kongregate, and gaming magazine, Game Informer.

“We are proud to partner with Autism Speaks this April,” said Matt Hodges, vice president of public and investor relations. “This partnership is extra special to the GameStop family. Many of our associates and customers have shared how the video game and technology products we sell have helped them have a meaningful relationship with their child who has autism. We look forward to a successful campaign and helping those families impacted by autism.”

This initiative is supported by GameStop’s passionate store associates, who are committed to giving back to the communities in which they work, live and play. As a ‘thank you’ to those customers who donate $1 or more, GameStop is offering triple PowerUp Rewards points on the donation amount.

“We are thrilled to see the world of gaming and technology embrace autism,” said Autism Speaks Vice President of Corporate Development Peter Morton. “We are grateful for this partnership since GameStop’s campaign will raise awareness of autism across the country.”

The donations raised through the GameStop campaign will help fund the Autism Speaks Family Services iPad Grant program, which provides iPads to financially disadvantaged children and adults with autism. iPads have become valuable tools for many people on the autism spectrum, allowing them to access apps that help advance communication and learning skills. Autism Speaks has donated more than 4,000 iPads to recipients across the country since in 2012.

In addition, the money raised will also fund the research and science program at Autism Speaks, which enables the development of technological advances that improve the health and quality of life for individuals with autism and their families.

Since its inception in 2005, Autism Speaks has committed more than $570 million to its mission, the majority going toward science and medical research.

To find your local GameStop, Simply Mac, Spring Mobile AT&T, or ThinkGeek stores, visit www.gamestop.com, www.simplymac.com, www.springmobile.com, or www.thinkgeek.com. To learn more about Autism Speaks, visit: autismspeaks.org.

About Autism
Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders — autism spectrum disorders — caused by a combination of genes and environmental influences. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by communication difficulties, social and behavioral challenges, and repetitive behaviors. An estimated 1 in 68 children in the U.S. is on the autism spectrum.

About Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of a child with autism. Since its inception, Autism Speaks has committed more than $570 million to its mission, the majority in science and medical research. On the global front, Autism Speaks has established partnerships in more than 70 countries on five continents to foster international research, services and awareness. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit AutismSpeaks.org.

About GameStop Corp.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, is a global, multichannel video game, consumer electronics and wireless services retailer. GameStop operates more than 7,100 stores across 14 countries. The company’s consumer product network also includes www.gamestop.com; www.Kongregate.com, a leading browser-based game site; Game Informer® magazine, the world’s leading print and digital video game publication; and ThinkGeek, www.thinkgeek.com, the premier retailer for the global geek community featuring exclusive and unique video game and pop culture products. In addition, our Technology Brands segment includes Simply Mac and Spring Mobile stores. Simply Mac, www.simplymac.com, operates 76 stores, selling the full line of Apple products, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones and offering Apple certified warranty and repair services. Spring Mobile, http://springmobile.com, sells post-paid AT&T services and wireless products through its 890 AT&T branded stores and offers pre-paid wireless services, devices and related accessories through its 70 Cricket branded stores in select markets in the U.S.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and eight other federal agencies today published a final rule that will provide new religious liberty protections for beneficiaries of federally funded social service programs, while also adding new protections for the ability of religious providers to compete for government funds on the same basis as any other private organization.

The final rule provides that a beneficiary who participates in a domestic job training or other social service program offered by a faith-based organization funded by direct federal financial assistance must be notified in writing that they cannot be discriminated against based on religion. They also cannot be required to attend or participate in any privately funded religious activities offered separate from this federally funded program and may request an alternative provider, if the beneficiary objects to the religious character of the organization.

The final rule also requires that all decisions about federal financial assistance be based solely on merit, without regard to an organization’s religious affiliation or lack of affiliation. The regulations, published after public notice and comment, formally implement Executive Order 13559.

The final rule sets forth changes to the current regulations, including:

Requiring the department to ensure that all decisions about federal financial assistance are based solely on merit, without regard to an organization’s religious affiliation or lack of affiliation, and free from political interference or the appearance of such interference.
Making clear that faith-based organizations are eligible to participate in the department’s social service programs on the same basis as any other private organization.

Clarifying what activities can and cannot be supported with direct federal financial assistance by replacing use of the term “inherently religious activities” with the term “explicitly religious activities” and providing examples of such activities.

Prohibiting organizations that receive federal financial assistance from discriminating against beneficiaries, including denying services or benefits, based on religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice.
Requiring faith-based organizations that receive direct federal financial assistance for domestic social service programs to provide written notice of certain protections to beneficiaries of the program.

While the final rule becomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, recipients of federal financial assistance have until 90 days after publication in the Federal Register to satisfy the new obligations in the final regulations. For more information, please visit the Federal Register for the final rule.

Nairobi / Dakar – UNICEF and Unilever today announced a partnership to improve access to safe water in countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership will focus first on four countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

The new agreement includes financial investment as well as strategic engagement with government and civil society. It aims to implement innovative community and school-based programmes to promote sustainable management of safe water and also to improve hygiene and handwashing practices.

“Africa’s population is surging and access to safe drinking water remains a serious problem for present and future generations,” said UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala. “Over the next two years, this partnership will not only ensure children and communities have access to safe drinking water, but that it is sustainable and scalable across the continent.”

Bruno Witvoet, President Unilever Africa, said: “At Unilever we want our brands to make a difference to the lives of the people of Africa, but the scale of challenges such as providing safe water go far beyond what any organisation, public or private can do alone. This partnership will draw on the joint expertise, resources and networks of both UNICEF and Unilever, to magnify our efforts so we improve the quality of life for ordinary people and help Africa meet the Sustainable Development Goals.”

In Kenya, one-in-three people lack access to safe drinking water, while in Nigeria at least 150,000 children below five years of age die every year as a result of diarrhea, and 70 million people lack access to improved water sources. In Côte d’Ivoire, 90% of schools and health care centres lack access to improved water supplies. In Ghana, over two million people use water from unsafe sources.

Despite unfavorable conditions, the potential to improve the situation for children is real. Due to the achievements realised through the Millennium Development Goals, an additional 47,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa now have access to safe drinking water every day, an increase of 20% compared to 25 years ago. The Unilever-UNICEF partnership seeks to demonstrate scalable water management models that deliver results and drives further investment in this critical area for the continent.

UNICEF and Unilever began collaborating in 2012 under a global partnership to address the sanitation crisis.

About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

Bentonville, Ark., Walmart today announced support for the Flint, Mich., community through donations, education and online services. Walmart, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and PepsiCo will collectively donate water to meet the daily needs of over 10,000 school children for the balance of the calendar year. That translates to 176 truckloads, or up to 6.5 million bottles of water, to help with relief efforts for those affected by the water crisis in Flint.

In addition to the water donation, the companies are encouraging others to support the Flint community by working with Good360, where nonprofits operating in Flint are listing their needs online. Walmart and its suppliers will continue to work closely in the Flint community and are encouraging the public to get involved by visiting Good360 to make donations that will go directly to local nonprofits serving the community.
Walmart previously helped fund Good360’s disaster recovery platform through a $1 million grant announced on the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Walmart and Sam’s Club will continue serving the community through its stores and clubs, where associates in pharmacies can share basic health tips and offer information on resources available in the community.

“The water crisis is personal to us here in Flint. Those affected include our own associates, customers and their families,” said Beth Harris, store manager at Walmart, Flint, Mich. Our associates are proud to be a part of the effort to help our friends and neighbors.”
“At Walmart, we take pride in using our strengths to help communities like Flint during times of crisis, as we’ve done around the world in times of need,” said Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs for Walmart. “We’re working to ensure that the children of Flint, the city’s most vulnerable citizens, have access to safe water.”

Walmart has already donated 14 trucks of water, or 504,000 bottles, and 1,792 water filters to the Flint community since July 2015. Coca-Cola has donated nearly 78,720 bottles of Dasani to local food banks and foundations and to approximately 40 associates living in the affected area. Nestlé Waters North America has already donated five truckloads, or more than 190,000 bottles, to Flint community organizations since October 2015.
“We are grateful for Walmart and their suppliers’ support during this crisis,” said Bilal Tawwab, Flint Community Schools Superintendent. “With their generous support, District students will have access to clean drinking water, and more importantly, the ability to focus on their education.”
“PepsiCo believes that access to safe water is a basic human right,” said Tony West, executive vice president, PepsiCo Government Affairs. “We are committed to supporting the communities where we operate, and our action today will allow Flint school children and their parents to focus on their education rather than where they can find clean water.”

“Nestlé Waters is proud to team up with Walmart to expand our ongoing work to provide clean, safe bottled water for Flint residents,” said Cameron Lorrain, plant manager for the Michigan-based Ice Mountain® and Nestlé Pure Life® brand operations. “We will continue to work in partnership with other companies, local officials and relief organizations to ensure that families in Flint have access to a steady supply of safe drinking water.”
“We are committed to supporting Walmart and other groups in water relief efforts for the Flint community,” said Lori George Billingsley, vice president of Community Relations, Coca-Cola North America. “This critical initiative to provide bottled water to the two Flint school districts builds on our heritage of supporting disaster relief work around the world. Over the past 19 months, we have donated bottled water, volunteer hours and supported our employees in the affected area and will continue to look for ways to help meet the community’s needs.”

Walmart has a long history of providing aid in times of disaster by donating emergency supplies, such as food and water, home and personal products, and by creating ways for associates and community members to locate and help one another. Over the past 10 years, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have provided more than $50 million in cash, in addition to in kind support, in response to events such as typhoons in Mexico and the Philippines, tsunamis in Asia, floods in the U.K. and Canada, tornadoes in the U.S., Africa’s Ebola epidemic and many other tragedies. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation also invested $7.2 million over the past 10 years to build community resiliency.

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT:NYSE) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly 260 million customers and members visit our nearly 11,600 stores under 72 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue of $485.7 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information can be found on the Walmart Website, on Facebook and on Twitter.

About Philanthropy at Walmart
By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. We have stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.2 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. We are helping people live better by accelerating upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where we operate and inspiring our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program in Bangladesh, China, India and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. Learn more about Walmart’s giving

Following agreement late yesterday by diplomats meeting in Munich as part of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to work with Syrian parties to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities, a United Nations-backed task force met today on quickly delivering aid to besieged towns and war-weary civilians in hard to reach areas across the country.

The task force held its initial meeting at the UN headquarters in Geneva less than 24 hours after it was by the ISSG, the group that has been working since November to secure a broader ceasefire and Syrian political negotiations and is comprised of the Arab League, the European Union, the United Nations, and 17 countries, including the United States and Russia. Late yesterday, it agreed on two key steps forward: a cessation of hostilities in Syria and establishing a humanitarian task force.

According to the ISSG agreement, “to accelerate the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid, sustained delivery of assistance shall begin this week” in seven besieged areas inside Syria, including the town of Madaya, which drew worldwide attention recently after UN and Red Cross relief workers reported people starving to death or being killed trying to flee.

Today, chairing the regular bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ahmed Fawzi, interim Director of the UN Information Service in the Swiss city, said the first meeting of the task force on humanitarian access in Syria would take place today and would include the ISSG co-Chairs, relevant UN entities, and members of the ISSG with influence on the parties to the conflict.

The UN system, particularly the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), would be organizing and the meeting, and representatives of the UN system in Damascus would participate through video-conference, he explained.

“The UN system has been geared to deliver this aid all along, especially to besieged areas, and that’s precisely what’s going to be discussed today: how to start, and when to start,” said Mr. Fawzi, responding to questions, adding: “We hope to start as early as tomorrow, immediately after the meeting, decisions will be taken to roll the aid in, especially to besieged areas that need it.”

Later in the day, a statement issued by a spokesperson for Steffan de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, said the meeting had been chaired by his Senior Advisor Jan Egeland. The purpose of this initial meeting was to agree on how the task force and its members could ensure that immediate access is granted to the civilian populations in besieged and hard to reach areas in line with the agreement reached by the ISSG at Munich.

The statement said that in order to accelerate the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid, sustained delivery of assistance is expected to begin this week to besieged areas where civilians are in desperate need of assistance. Humanitarian access to these most urgent areas will be a first step toward full, sustained, and unimpeded access throughout the country.

“Once we get clearance by concerned parties, the UN and its humanitarian partners will be able to reach the civilians in need within the coming days,” Mr. de Mistura said. “Next week, we plan to have a second meeting of this task force, in order to assess the progress made, and maintain the pressure for incremental and unimpeded aid deliveries,” he explained.

According to the statement, Mr. Egeland, who is the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council and formerly head of UN OCHA, said that humanitarian actors had already submitted requests for access to the parties surrounding besieged areas. “We expect to get such access without delay. Finally, the civilians who have been deprived of their basic right of humanitarian access for so long, will have hope,” he added. “Let us not fail them.”

Separately, Stephen O’Brien, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, statement welcomed news that the members of the ISSG agreed to a cessation of hostilities in Syria and he urged the parties to the conflict to ensure full, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access, including to besieged and hard-to-reach areas, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law.

“The people of Syria – in Aleppo, Madaya, Foah and Kefraya, Deir ez-Zor and elsewhere – need an end to the brutal violence and bombing, the sieges, denial of free movement, food and medical care,” he said, emphasizing that the United Nations and its partners need safe, sustained access for humanitarian workers throughout the country.

He went on to stress that the UN remains committed and ready to deliver aid and protection for civilians in desperate need, whoever and wherever they are. “Above all we need to see meaningful action on the ground, so that Syrians and their neighbours can start to rebuild their lives and their country,” he concluded.

DAVOS-KLOSTERS, Switzerland — Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella announced a new three-part initiative to ensure that Microsoft’s cloud computing resources serve the public good. As part of this initiative the recently formed Microsoft Philanthropies will donate $1 billion of Microsoft Cloud Services, measured at fair market value, to serve nonprofits and university researchers over the next three years.

Microsoft’s three-part commitment focuses on ensuring the cloud can serve the public good in the broadest sense by providing additional cloud resources to nonprofits, increasing access for university researchers and helping solve last-mile Internet access challenges.

“Microsoft is empowering mission-driven organizations around the planet with a donation of cloud computing services — the most transformative technologies of our generation,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who on Wednesday will speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Now more than 70,000 organizations will have access to technology that will help them solve our greatest societal challenges and ultimately improve the human condition and drive new growth equally.”

Cloud computing has emerged as a vital resource for unlocking the secrets held by data in ways that create new insights and lead to breakthroughs not just for science and technology, but for the full range of economic and social challenges and the delivery of better human services. It can also improve communications and problem-solving and help organizations work in a more productive and more efficient manner.

In September 2015, 193 heads of state and other world leaders unanimously adopted 17 sustainable development goals to achieve by 2030. This ambitious agenda — which includes ending poverty, ending hunger, and ensuring affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all — will only be achievable with the benefit of significant inventions and technology innovations. The scale and computational power enabled by cloud computing will be essential to unlocking solutions to this list of some of the world’s seemingly unsolvable problems.

“We’re committed to helping nonprofit groups and universities use cloud computing to address fundamental human challenges,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith. “One of our ambitions for Microsoft Philanthropies is to partner with these groups and ensure that cloud computing reaches more people and serves the broadest array of societal needs.”

Specific elements of the new initiative include these:

Serving the broad needs of the nonprofit community. A new global donation program will make Microsoft Cloud Services, including Microsoft Azure, Power BI, CRM Online and the Enterprise Mobility Suite, more available to nonprofit organizations through Microsoft Philanthropies. The program builds upon an already successful program that provides similar access to Office 365 for nonprofits. The nonprofit program for Microsoft Cloud Services will begin rolling out this spring, and Microsoft Philanthropies aims to serve 70,000 nonprofits in the next three years with these Microsoft Cloud Services.
Expanding access to cloud resources for faculty research in universities. Microsoft Research and Microsoft Philanthropies will expand by 50 percent the Microsoft Azure for Research program that grants free Azure storage and computing resources to help faculty accelerate their research on cutting-edge challenges. Today this program provides free cloud computing resources for over 600 research projects on six continents.
Reaching new communities with last-mile connectivity and cloud services. Microsoft Philanthropies and Microsoft Business Development will combine donated access to Microsoft Cloud services with investments in new, low-cost last-mile Internet access technologies and community training. By combining cloud services with connectivity and training, and focusing on new public-private partnerships, Microsoft Philanthropies intends to support 20 of these projects in at least 15 countries around the world by the middle of 2017.
Providing nonprofits with better access to Microsoft Cloud Services, including the powerful Microsoft Azure platform, builds upon Microsoft’s longtime commitment to making cutting-edge technology available at no or low cost to organizations working on solving some of society’s toughest problems.

In recent years, as organizations have increased their reliance on cloud computing, Microsoft has worked in partnership with a broad range of organizations focused on big challenges. The initiatives show the potential impact that increased access to the transformational power of cloud computing can have:

Microsoft Research is working with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Biodiversity Research Program through the use of 700 wireless sensors, cloud technology and automated data-stream processing to understand how cloud forests work and study the impact of climate changes on the communities supported by those forests.
Through a partnership with the University of Texas at Austin called Project Catapult, Microsoft makes advanced cloud computing technology available to researchers that have demonstrated the ability to deliver lower power and cost, higher-quality results, or a combination of both.
In Botswana, Microsoft is partnering with the Botswana Innovation Hub, Vista Life Sciences, the United States Agency for International Development and Global Broadband Solutions to assist Botswana, the University of Pennsylvania and the Ministry of Health in leveraging cloud-based health records management and Internet access enabled by use of TV white spaces to remotely deliver specialized medicine, including cervical cancer screenings to women at rural healthcare clinics.
“Access to technology is critical to the operations and services of NetHope and its 44 humanitarian nonprofit member organizations,” said NetHope CEO Lauren Woodman. “The power of cloud computing will create exponential value for all we do to serve the millions of people in our communities around the world.”

About Microsoft Philanthropies
In December 2015 Microsoft formed Microsoft Philanthropies (@MSPhilanthropic), a new organization within the company focused on driving digital inclusion and empowerment around the world.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

NEW YORK, – More than 12 million children in over 46 countries have better schools, teachers and learning materials, thanks to a 13-year partnership between the IKEA Foundation, Save the Children and UNICEF.

Since 2003, the IKEA Foundation’s ‘Soft Toys for Education’ campaign has contributed €88 million to Save the Children and UNICEF, helping to increase school attendance for some of the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable children. Funds have also helped train teachers, provide educational materials and improve child protection systems in schools and communities.

“Education is the most solid road leading out of poverty. All children have the right to an education but still too many are left behind. Partnering with UNICEF and Save the Children for 13 years has allowed us to address this issue strategically and invest in improving the quality of education in some of the world’s poorest communities—and we’re incredibly grateful to the IKEA customers and co-workers who have worked so hard to make that right a reality for over 12 million children,” said Per Heggenes, CEO IKEA Foundation

In Ethiopia, funds from the IKEA Foundation have helped UNICEF reach children in rural farming communities with basic education. The flexible schooling model has been so successful that the Ethiopian government has rolled it out nationally.

In China, IKEA Foundation funding helped develop early-childhood development centres for disadvantaged children living in selected rural communities. The impact of these centres on children’s lives contributed to the Government of China’s decision to universalize preschool education.

“UNICEF is grateful to the IKEA Foundation, IKEA co-workers and customers for the commitment demonstrated over the past 13 years to help transform children’s lives through education,” said UNICEF Global Chief of Education Josephine Bourne. “We will continue to build on these achievements so that many more of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized children are given the opportunity to build a better future for themselves and their families through education.”

With the support of the IKEA Foundation, Save the Children has worked in 17 countries in Asia and Europe to provide educational opportunities for previously out-of-school children, to improve the learning environment and to train teachers on child-centred, nonviolent, and inclusive teaching methodology.

In Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam, Save the Children has, together with education authorities and civil society organizations, supported policy reform and practices to ensure that children from minority groups learn in a language they understand.

“Education is a human right and the means by which to equip children with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the world. It also saves lives, protects and builds peace. Save the Children is extremely grateful for the partnership we have with the IKEA Foundation and the support we receive from IKEA employees and customers around the globe. Together, we have made an enormous difference for children with disabilities and children from ethnic minority groups, and Save the Children will not rest until all children have the opportunity to learn,” said David Skinner, Director of Save the Children’s Education Global Initiative.

Although the Soft Toys for Education campaign has ended its successful run, the IKEA Foundation will continue its commitment to UNICEF and Save the Children through ongoing grants in Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia in the areas of education, early-childhood care and development, child protection, adolescence and humanitarian response.

CHICAGO, – Today is #GivingTuesday, and United Airlines is urging its customers to join in the giving spirit. Through December 11, the company will provide up to a total of 10 million bonus miles to MileagePlus members who donate to any charity through CrowdRise, the world’s largest online charitable fundraising platform.

“Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity for our customers and employees to further support the causes that matter most to them,” said Tom O’Toole, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at United. “We are always seeking out new ways to make a difference in the communities we proudly serve, and this partnership allows us to reward customers who share our commitment.”

Each donation will also add one brick to the CrowdRise Giving Tower – a virtual structure built in real time representing the world’s combined philanthropic impact over the holidays. A new virtual reality feature will help bring the experience to life by allowing viewers to see the CrowdRise Giving Tower stacked up next to iconic buildings from around the globe.

MileagePlus members who give to any charity can receive up to 1,000 bonus miles by entering their MileagePlus number at the time of their donation. United will award members miles based on the size of their donation:
•Donate $50-$99 – Earn 250 bonus miles
•Donate $100-$249 – Earn 500 bonus miles
•Donate $250 or more – Earn 1,000 bonus miles

Though MileagePlus members will receive miles for donating to a charity of their choice, they may also direct their contribution to one of several organizations that currently partner with United, including: Make-A-Wish America, March of Dimes, Fisher House Foundation, Ride 2 Recovery, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. To see a full list of United’s featured charities, and watch the Giving Tower grow, visit www.CrowdRise.com/unitedgivingtuesday.

About United
United Airlines and United Express operate an average of nearly 5,000 flights a day to 352 airports across six continents. In 2014, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 138 million customers. United is proud to have the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates more than 700 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 34 new Boeing aircraft, including the 787-9 and the 737-900ER. United is also welcoming 49 new Embraer E175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. Approximately 84,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

FREMONT, Calif., – Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) is proud to announce that the National Suit Drive has collected a record one million donations to date. This year has been the most successful Suit Drive since the program’s inception eight years ago, helping countless unemployed Americans.

Men’s Wearhouse National Suit Drive

The National Suit Drive aims to address the unemployment issue affecting more than 8 million* Americans by collecting gently used professional attire and providing those in need with the confidence associated with putting on a suit. Men’s Wearhouse partners with more than 180 local non-profit organizations across the United States who distribute the articles of clothing, and provide job-ready skills, training and seminars to disadvantaged men and women entering or re-entering the workforce. This year, the campaign kicked off June 22nd and ran through July 31st encouraging Americans to donate to any of the more than 900 Men’s Wearhouse locations across the USA.

The company partnered with professional football superstar DeMarco Murray, running back of the Philadelphia Eagles, and the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) to help rally donations. “It was a pleasure to be a part of the National Suit Drive. There are so many young men and women across America that do not have the proper interview attire. The Suit Drive gives those in need a second chance,” said Coach Lionel Hollins, Head Coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

“Our eighth annual National Suit Drive was our most successful to date and we couldn’t have done it without the overwhelming support from our participating customers and non-profit partners. Together, we’re helping people look and feel their best, giving them the confidence they need to make a great first impression at job interviews,” said Doug Ewert, CEO of The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc.

Men’s Wearhouse is focused on giving back to the communities it serves and has a commitment to supporting U.S. employment. The men’s specialty retailer is the largest domestic manufacturer and retailer of tailored clothing, creating jobs in an industry that has been stagnant elsewhere in the country.

About Men’s Wearhouse
Founded in 1973, Men’s Wearhouse is one of North America’s largest specialty retailers of men’s apparel with 1,758 stores. The Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores and K&G stores carry a full selection of suits, sport coats, furnishings and accessories in exclusive and non-exclusive merchandise brands and Men’s Wearhouse and Tux stores carry a limited selection. Most K&G stores carry a full selection of women’s apparel. Tuxedo and suit rentals are available in the Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores and Men’s Wearhouse and Tux stores. Additionally, Men’s Wearhouse operates a global corporate apparel and workwear group consisting of Twin Hill in the United States and Dimensions, Alexandra and Yaffy in the United Kingdom.