Easter Seals kicks off the Holiday Season with World's Largest Virtual Reality Tower on Giving Tuesday

CHICAGO, Nov. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year on Giving Tuesday, Easter Seals is proud to participate in the biggest virtual event happening during the holiday season.  As one of eight founding partner charities, Easter Seals hopes to raise $15,000 in donations for children and adults with disabilities to access vital services and support programs.

Easter Seals is partnering with CrowdRise, the largest crowdfunding platform for good, for its second annual Giving Tuesday campaign.  This fun and friendly competition between charities offers a visual reflection of the combined philanthropic impact on Giving Tuesday: as donations are made, donors, organizations and everyone else can watch the tower grow brick by brick via a free virtual reality app available in the iTunes store and Google Play. The Tower will grow within a virtual city where it will be sized up against some of the world's biggest and most iconic structures.

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, Giving Tuesday is the country's day to give back. Donations made to Easter Seals will support children and adults with disabilities by helping them at the local and national level through the organization's programs and services such as early intervention and education, employment services, residential programs, caregiver support, employment connections, home health, respite care, adult day care, and many more.   

"Easter Seals provides services, education, outreach and advocacy, so that people living with autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities excel right where they are. We encourage and welcome the giving public to become part of the Giving Tower by donating to Easter Seals and helping people with all abilities live, learn, work and play in their communities," said Easter Seals president and CEO Randy Rutta.

Last year, the Giving Tower grew to a whopping 2,514 feet, just 208 feet shorter than the tallest building in the world and raised more than $4 million dollars for participating organizations. "This year, we're making the campaign way bigger and embracing the coolest, most innovative technology the charity space has ever seen," said Robert Wolfe, CrowdRise co-founder and CEO. As an added incentive, the charity that raises the most in the CrowdRise Giving Tower on Giving Tuesday from 12 a.m. ET through 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1 will receive a $25,000 donation to their cause.

Go to www.crowdrise.com/easterseals to donate and learn more about Easter Seals and the services available.

About Easter Seals:
Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs.  For nearly 100 years, we have been offering help, hope, and answers to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play.  To learn more about Easter Seals and services in communities nationwide, visit www.easterseals.com. 

About CrowdRise:
CrowdRise is the world's largest and fastest growing online platform dedicated exclusively to charitable fundraising. CrowdRise is used by millions of individuals, tens of thousands of charities, hundreds of companies and many of the most famous artists and athletes in the world to creatively leverage their resources and networks to unlock the power of the crowd and raise hundreds of millions of dollars to support positive social missions.

Founded by actor Edward Norton, film producer Shauna Robertson and Robert and Jeffrey Wolfe, CrowdRise has conceived, implemented and powered campaigns that have raised over $250 million to date. For more information, visit www.crowdrise.com

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SOURCE Easter Seals

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