BELLEVUE, Wash., Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia.com®, the world's leading online travel agency, announced today that it will support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Thanks and Giving campaign this holiday season. Expedia will match customer's $10, $25, $50 or $100 donations made through Expedia.com from November 22 through December 31, 2010, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. Expedia will also triple donations made by customers who donate with a MasterCard® card, up to an additional $100,000.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100106/AQ33533LOGO)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100106/AQ33533LOGO)
In addition, Expedia will provide travel coupons in denominations of $10, $25, $50 and $100 that correspond to the traveler's donation. Customers can take advantage of this promotion and view coupon terms and restrictions by visiting www.expedia.com/stjude.
St. Jude is one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. Scientific discoveries made at St. Jude have led to lifesaving cures and treatments for patients around the world. In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, the survival rate is 94 percent, thanks to research and protocols developed at St. Jude. St. Jude has also discovered a way to lessen the side effects of radiation treatment, making it more effective for virtually all cancers.
No child is ever turned away from St. Jude because of a family's inability to pay. St. Jude also pays for the cost of food, lodging and travel for each patient and one family member. The Thanks and Giving campaign, created in 2004 by Marlo Thomas and her siblings Terre and Tony Thomas, the children of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas, serves to build awareness and raise funds for St. Jude during a season that exemplifies thanks and giving to so many. The funds raised directly support the lifesaving research and treatment being done at St. Jude.
"The Thanks and Giving campaign asks consumers to 'give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not,'" said Sean Kell, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Online and Customer Marketing at Expedia, Inc. "As a parent, I am personally thrilled to have Expedia participate in this effort. With our customers' support, we believe we are going to make a real difference."
"MasterCard is proud to work with Expedia to support the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign," said Rob Sheets, Group Head, Merchant Relations and Co Branding, U.S. Commerce Development, MasterCard Worldwide. "Children from around the world come to St. Jude for treatment and we hope that with MasterCard's donation it will aid in St. Jude's mission of finding cures and saving lives."
About Expedia.com
Expedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of vacation packages, flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com promises to offer to its customers the best rates available online for all types of travel. Expedia.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE).
Expedia and Expedia.com are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.© 2010 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-50
About MasterCard Worldwide
As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2009, $2.5 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network — the fastest payment processing network in the world — MasterCard processes over 22 billion transactions each year, has the capacity to handle 140 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 140 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl™. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.
About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital:
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. In 2010, St. Jude was ranked the most trusted charity in the nation in a public survey conducted by Harris Interactive, a highly respected international polling and research firm. St. Jude was also named the nation's top children's cancer hospital in the 2010-11 Best Children's Hospitals rankings published by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, go to www.stjude.org and follow St. Jude on www.facebook.com/stjude and www.twitter.com/stjude.
SOURCE Expedia, Inc.
Share this article