Mazda Donates $1,000,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®

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May 05, 2015, 08:05 ET

IRVINE, Calif., May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), through its Mazda Drive for Good^® program, today announced a $1,000,000 donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Over the last two years, Mazda has cultivated its relationship with St. Jude, one that originated through an employee referral. Mazda Drive for Good continues to give back to local communities across the U.S. throughout the year through volunteering. In 2014, Mazda pledged and completed more than 56,000 hours of volunteer service. In 2015, Mazda has pledged to give more than 66,000 hours.

As part of its Mazda Drive For Good initiative, Mazda donates $1,000,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Left to right: Chris Hill, Manager of Marketing Communications, MNAO, Jeri Shipman, Senior Liaison Corporate Acquisition & Development, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Brian Boucher, Sr. vice president new market development, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO, MNAO.

"Mazda's donation to St. Jude helps them achieve their mission of reducing the cancer rate among children and allows them to continue their treatment without ever giving a patient's family a bill," said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO, MNAO. "However, this donation would never have been possible without the donations being directed by our customers throughout the month of December during the Mazda Drive for Good event. So, while this donation comes from Mazda Drive for Good, it is really a direct result of our customers wanting to give to St. Jude."

Mazda's Drive for Good event ran from November 21, 2014 through January 2, 2015. For every new Mazda vehicle purchased or leased during this time period, Mazda donated $150 to one of four national, or 44 local, charities, with the choice of the charity being left up to the customer. In addition to the monetary donation, Mazda also pledged an hour of charitable service for every test drive of a new Mazda vehicle taken during the Mazda Drive for Good event. Mazda employees, dealers and business partners will all work together to achieve the more than 66,000 charitable service hours pledged.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital^®:
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening disease. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for some of the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com.

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SOURCE Mazda North American Operations