CBS Remembers Fallen Military And Their Families With Special Memorial Day PSA Campaign In Partnership With TAPS

NEW YORK, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CBS Corporation will remember fallen military and their families with a special Memorial Day CBS Cares public service announcement airing throughout the holiday weekend beginning Friday, May 26 through Monday, May 29. The PSA, featuring Steve Kroft, CBS correspondent for 60 MINUTES and Vietnam War veteran, encourages viewers to honor the fallen and help their families cope with grief by volunteering or donating to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and is scheduled to air on CBS THIS MORNING, THE TALK and THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT on Friday, May 26.  The PSA will also air during FACE THE NATION on Sunday, May 28 and in primetime and CBS Sports programming during Memorial Day weekend. In addition, the PSA will be available online on select CBS websites and be distributed to local stations across the country. 

"We are proud of our partnership with TAPS and of our Company's continued internal and external support of all those who serve or have served in the military," said Tony Ambrosio, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, CBS Corporation. "We hope this special CBS Cares PSA increases awareness and furthers the mission of TAPS in providing help and resources to those grieving the death of a loved one who served in our armed forces."   

In addition to the Network's on-air support of TAPS, CBS employees have the opportunity to volunteer at the Command Center for one day during Fleet Week in New York City, Wednesday, May 24 through Tuesday, May 30. This year, an estimated 13 ships will arrive with over 5,000 service members disembarking in New York City. CBS employees will be greeting and thanking sailors, Marines and coast guardsmen as they dock in New York. 

CBS will also be distributing 4,000 poppy seed cards to employees, encouraging them to plant them to pay homage to fallen service members. Employees will be encouraged to share photos of themselves planting their seeds as well as photos of their poppies in full bloom as a continuation of the Company's Memorial Day recognition.

"Memorial Day offers us an opportunity to recognize those who made the ultimate sacrifice as well as a chance to reflect on what we as a CBS family can continue to do to support the military and their families," said Richard M. Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Veteran Officer, CBS Corporation. "We are thankful to Vietnam War veteran Steve Kroft and the CBS team for shining the light on TAPS through this PSA – and to those employees who will be volunteering this holiday weekend."

"On behalf of the thousands of families who have lost loved ones during military service, TAPS is grateful for the awareness CBS is raising about the true meaning of Memorial Day," said TAPS founder and president Bonnie Carroll. "The vital services TAPS provides to the families of America's fallen heroes are truly life changing, and would be impossible to provide without the generous support of the American people."

To mark Memorial Day, TAPS will welcome more than 2,000 participants to Washington, D.C. over the weekend as part of its 23rd Annual National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp.  The seminar, which offers a Good Grief Camp for children and workshops for adults on coping with traumatic grief, provides many opportunities for surviving family members to remember the life and legacy of their fallen loved ones, including those killed in action, those who died of illness and suicide and those who died as a result of accidents or other circumstances. At the TAPS Good Grief Camp, more than 500 children who have lost a loved one as a result of military service will learn coping strategies and meet other children grieving a similar loss. During the camp, the surviving children are paired one-on-one with TAPS-trained volunteer military mentors who are recent veterans, on active duty or in the National Guard or reserve forces.

About CBS Cares:
At the heart of CBS' public service commitment is the multiple award-winning CBS Cares campaign, which consists of PSAs created by CBS, usually featuring talent from a wide array of CBS Television Network programming. These PSAs have addressed numerous issues, none more important than those supporting our troops and their families. Among these projects in support of our military are PSAs for Memorial Day; a Veterans Day PSA featuring a Medal of Honor Recipient; an in-game Super Bowl PSA honoring fallen and wounded veterans; a CBS Cares Radio program on post traumatic/combat stress, hosted by Steve Kroft and featuring Veterans and an expert; and PSAs in support of care packages for troops deployed overseas. 

About TAPS: 
The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America's fallen military heroes and has offered support to more than 70,000 surviving family members of our fallen military and their caregivers since 1994. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, case work assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to www.taps.org or call the toll-free TAPS resource and information helpline at 1.800.959.TAPS (8277).

For more information on CBS Cares, please click here. 

To visit CBS Cares on Facebook, click here.

To visit CBS Cares on Twitter, click here.

For more information and to donate to TAPS, please click here. 

To visit TAPS on Facebook, click here.

To visit TAPS on Twitter, click here.

To visit TAPS' YouTube page, click here. 

SOURCE CBS Corporation

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