Leading Brands Partner with St. Jude for 'Thanks and Giving'

Leading retailers and brands such as Target Corp., Kmart and Coca-Cola, among others, will partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for its ninth annual “Thanks and Giving” campaign, which offers holiday shoppers new ways to give thanks for the healthy kids in their lives, and to give to those who are not.

The campaign and its partners have raised awareness and more than $312 million in funds to help St. Jude children with cancer and other deadly diseases with pioneering research and exceptional care. Created in 2004 by Marlo Thomas and her siblings Terre and Tony, as well as children of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas, the campaign celebrates the season of giving by building attention and garnering funds for St. Jude during those months of busy holiday shopping. The funds raised during the campaign impact the lives of children in communities across the country and world, as St. Jude openly shares research discoveries directly with doctors and scientists everywhere.

“My father believed that every child had the right to a chance at life no matter their race, religion or their family’s ability to pay,” said Thomas, national outreach director for Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude’s. "Thanks to the continued generosity of our extraordinary partners and their customers, we've been able to save the lives of countless children and teens worldwide – all at no cost to their families. We are incredibly grateful for their continued dedication to the lifesaving mission of St. Jude."

The 2012 edition features new partners and expanded opportunities for people to engage with and donate to the campaign online and through their mobile devices.

The campaign’s partners include more than 60 leading brands representing retail, restaurant, travel, hospitality, media and other industries, all of whom will encourage consumers to give to St. Jude. This year, new brands like Coca-Cola, Carnival Cruise Lines, Coldwater Creek, ICING and online retailer Gifts That Give have signed on. Campaign stalwarts Kmart, CVS/pharmacy, ANN INC., the parent company of Ann Taylor and LOFT, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., GNC, Domino's Pizza, New York & Company, AutoZone, Dollar General, Gymboree, Brooks Brothers, HomeGoods, Claire's, HSN and others will invite consumers to make a donation at checkout. AOL, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kay Jewelers, Target, Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark, Carmike Cinemas and others will support the campaign through product promotions and awareness efforts.

Corporate partners will help raise much-needed funds and awareness for St. Jude across multiple in-store, online and media channels:

• Kmart, the top St. Jude Thanks and Giving fundraiser for the past three years, will host shopping sprees with St. Jude patients and personalities Sandra Lee and Jaclyn Smith in New York and L.A.
• Coca-Cola, the campaign's first partner from the consumer packaged goods category, will include St. Jude Thanks and Giving as a benefactor of its My Coke Rewards program. For more information, visit mycokerewards.com.
• Coca-Cola will also team with long-standing St. Jude partner, Domino's Pizza, to offer the St. Jude Thanks and Giving Combo. Domino's will donate $1 from the purchase price of each combo to St. Jude. Coca-Cola will support the initiative with local media.
• Both GNC and Domino's will integrate the campaign into their mobile applications, increasing awareness and encouraging donations.
• National CineMedia will use its CinemaSync second-screen movie app to integrate with the campaign's star-studded trailer on-screen and in theatre lobbies to show audiences how they can donate to St. Jude.
• Kay Jewelers, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry and New York & Company will run Facebook campaigns in which they will donate to St. Jude for every new "like" to their Facebook pages.
• HSN will host the first St. Jude Thanks and Giving "Pin to Give" Pinterest promotion where users will be encouraged to create a special "Deck the Halls for St. Jude"–themed board. HSN will donate $1 for each board, up to $5,000.
• Gifts That Give, an online charitable shopping site, will donate 20 percent of each purchase to the shopper's charity of choice. St. Jude will be the featured charity during the months of November and December.
• Carnival Cruise Lines will enhance its year-long giving platform (Care to Play: Carnival for St. Jude Kids) by offering its guests the option of making donations during the embarkation process throughout the holiday season.
• Retail partners like Domino's, Gifts That Give and HSN also will allow consumers to add a donation to St. Jude during online checkout.

In addition, national television spots featuring St. Jude celebrity supporters, coupled with print and out-of-home advertising and retail point of sale marketing, will be complemented by a special promotional website, online banner and search advertising, and mobile and social media integration.

In support of the campaign - which launches Thanksgiving week and runs through the end of the year - corporate partners, celebrity friends and St. Jude supporters will be invited to participate in the first-ever St. Jude Thanks and Giving "Buzz Day," a single-day social media effort designed to create awareness for the campaign and the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.