Calling All Gamers: Join The (RED)RUSH Games To Challenge Celebrities And Players In The Fight For An AIDS Free Generation By 2015

E3 ATTENDEES CAN COMPETE IN THE GAMING TOURNAMENT AT THE (RED)RUSH GAMES BOOTH POWERED BY STiKS GAMING

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May 30, 2012, 03:05 ET

NEW YORK, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- (RED) today announced the first-ever (RED)RUSH Games, a video game tournament that is a centerpiece of the inaugural (RED)RUSH TO ZERO campaign (June 1-10) to raise funding and awareness to help deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015, a critical milestone in the fight against AIDS. Gamers can sign up starting today at STiKSGAMING.com to play alongside celebrities such as Kate Upton, Kris Allen, and Michelle Rodriguez. The virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is part of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals, which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by the target date of 2015.

The (RED)RUSH Games is being powered by STiKS GAMING, and some of the biggest players in the gaming world have come together to support this campaign, including Xbox 360, PlayStation®, EA & 2K. IGN Entertainment, the world's leading video games media company, is the official media sponsor for The (RED)RUSH Games.

From June 1-10, gamers can go to stiksgaming.com – or visit The (RED)RUSH Games booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) June 5-7 -- to play alongside their favorite celebrities. Having joined either TEAM INSPI(RED) or TEAM POWE(RED), they will choose to play on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, make a small donation – to benefit the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – pick a game to play, including EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 12, EA SPORTS NHL 12, 2K Sports' NBA2K12, KINECT Sports Season 2 and Forza Motorsport 4, and then find an opponent. Post-game, each player reports wins and losses on the website and their results count toward their team's score. The winner's donation – and that of his or her competitor -- will help their team's efforts to raise the highest donation to the Global Fund. Throughout the Games, eligible players will have the chance to win prizes including (RED) products, tickets to the MTV Movie Awards and the chance to take on celebrity gamers, who will join in and play throughout The (RED)RUSH Games.

Celebrities and brands signed up include: Kate Upton, Michelle Rodriguez, Funny or Die, Samantha Ronson, Converse, Michael B Jordan, Kris Allen, Jorge Garcia, Autumn Reeser, Scott Porter, Beats by Dr. Dre, Ryan Cabrera, Wayne Brady, DJ Colleen Shannon, Aldis Hodge, Al Shearer, Kerli, Brian White, Chingy, Cobi Jones, Electric Touch, Jason Mewes, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, iLuminate, Chad 'Madd Chadd' Smith and Pro Gaming Legend Fatal1ty.

The (RED)RUSH Games will partner with the world's largest gaming conference, E3 in LA. A special (RED)RUSH Games booth will be featured at E3 from June 5-7, making (RED) the only cause presence at the conference. The 1,000 square foot booth will feature private gaming spaces, large video screens to catch the action and a DJ booth. The event will culminate with a VIP party for supporters at the Avalon in Hollywood on the evening of June 7.

"Gaming is a passion for millions of people, and (RED) is going to tap into that passion to get people focused and engaged in our efforts to help deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015," said Deborah Dugan, CEO of (RED). "We're giving gamers an incredibly fun way to compete in a world-class tournament while doing good at the same time."

"(RED) is one of the most respected, and innovative causes in the world, and we are honored to launch the STiKS GAMING platform with The (RED)RUSH Games," stated STiKS GAMING partner Brett Claywell. "We are excited to unite gamers in support of a global cause, and look forward to building a strong community in an effort to better the world while having some fun."

The (RED)RUSH Games are a key element of (RED)RUSH TO ZERO, a series of in-person and digital events and experiences involving brands, celebrities, gamers, music fans and consumers around the world. The other major components are the (RED)Music program, allowing fans to buy (RED) tickets from major artists and iconic venues turning their shows (RED), and the Cash & Rocket (RED) Tour, a fundraising road trip across Europe.

During (RED)RUSH, (RED) corporate partners will offer consumers ways to fight AIDS and to build on the $190 million raised to date. The organization's first Central and South American partnership will see wireless providers Telcel and Claro introducing (RED) wireless products in 15 countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Peru. (RED) will also launch two new partners – Tourneau will offer a (RED) collection of their Tourneau TNY watch and Bottletop will introduce (RED) versions of their iconic Luciana clutch bag and the unisex Kibe belt. (RED) partners include Apple, The Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Bugaboo, Nike, Penfolds, SAP and American Express, and they contribute up to 50% of the proceeds from the sale of (RED) products and services to help fight AIDS.

Since launching in 2006, (RED) has raised more than $190 million to fight AIDS. The recipient of these funds is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (RED) helps finance Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants that have impacted the lives of more than 14 million people affected by AIDS in Africa.

About (RED)™

(RED) engages business and consumer power in the fight against AIDS. To date, (RED) partners and events have generated over $190 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This money supports Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia. So far more than 14 million people have been reached with prevention, treatment, counseling, and care services through these grants. (RED) dollars are used to support programs that have helped provide life-saving antiretroviral therapy for 220,000 HIV-positive people, put 130,000 HIV-positive pregnant women on preventative antiretroviral therapy to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission and reached 13 million people with HIV testing and counseling. Current (RED) Proud Partners include: American Express (UK only), Apple, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Bugaboo, Claro, The Coca-Cola Company, Nike, Penfolds, SAP, Starbucks and Telcel and Special Edition partners include: Bottletop, FEED, Girl Skateboards, Mophie, Nanda Home, Shazam, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Tourneau and TOUS. (RED) is a division of The ONE Campaign. On World AIDS Day 2010, (RED) launched "The AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015" campaign. (RED) has joined is joining the global health community in raising funds and awareness to help eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015 and helping to realize the first AIDS-free generation in nearly thirty years. Learn more at www.joinred.com.

About STiKS GAMING:

STiKS GAMING is a new gaming platform poised to create a movement and lead gaming in a new mainstream and socially conscious direction. Through www.stiksgaming.com, players can register their gamer ID, join a team, and play their favorite video games to compete for their choice of charitable projects. STiKS GAMING is led by Michael Wasserman and Brett Claywell, with the mission to encourage the vastly growing video game community to unite for a cause. In addition to major sponsored campaigns, www.stiksgaming.com is designed to support registered 501(c)3 charities, large and small, and to allow gamers the opportunity to join the STiKS GAMING network to help "Battle for a Better World." For more information, please visit: www.stiksgaming.com

About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the video game and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reach more than 57 million unique users worldwide, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore. IGN's network of video game-related properties (IGN.com, 1UP.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox and others) is the Web's #1 video game information destination. IGN also owns the world's largest men's lifestyle website, AskMen.com, and men's entertainment site UGO.com. It also provides technology for online game play in video games. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.

About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Global Fund is a unique, public-private partnership and international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents an innovative approach to international health financing. The Global Fund's model is based on the concepts of country ownership and performance-based funding, which means that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing on the condition that verifiable results are achieved.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the main financier of programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 22.6 billion for more than 1,000 programs in 150 countries (as of 1 December 2011). To date, programs supported by the Global Fund are providing AIDS treatment for 3.3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 8.6 million people and 230 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.

SOURCE (RED)