St. Jude and P&G Invite Target Guests to Help Fight Childhood Cancer With the Purchase of Everyday Necessities

Live, Learn and Thrive™ to provide additional support through $150,000 grant

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Sep 14, 2010, 07:50 ET

CINCINNATI, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Many of the public's favorite household brands have joined forces to support the lifesaving work of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®, one of the world's premier pediatric cancer research centers. From September 19 - 25, Target guests can help St. Jude in its fight to find cures and save children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases by purchasing participating Procter & Gamble (P&G) brands including Tide®, Charmin®, Bounty® and Pampers® as well as other manufacturers' brands at Target stores nationwide.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100914/CG62981)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100914/CG62981)

For every purchase of participating brands during the week-long program, five percent of the purchase price will be donated to St. Jude, with a total donation of up to $700,000.

"Through this unique program, P&G is providing shoppers with a great way to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. "Families today are making hard choices about how to spend their dollars, but children battling cancer and other catastrophic diseases still need help. Simply by purchasing some of their favorite products, Target guests will be helping St. Jude continue to conduct the groundbreaking research and provide the lifesaving care that helps children in communities everywhere."

"P&G is extremely proud to partner with Target and St. Jude to help make a meaningful difference in the lives of children with cancer and other catastrophic disease," said Joanne Harris, P&G's Target Team Leader. "Through our company's Live, Learn and Thrive™ cause, we aim to reach more than 50 million children in need every year with programs that help them get off to a healthy start, receive access to education, and build skills for life."

P&G just announced that it has awarded St. Jude a $150,000 grant through the Live, Learn and Thrive global cause to directly support the expansion of educational efforts at Target House residence through the creation of a learning/media center and gathering room. Target House is a 96 apartment facility that provides apartments free-of-charge to families of children whose treatments at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital require they be in Memphis for more than 90 days with some families staying as long as 3 years. The new room will create an environment that enables the children to intellectually thrive in very difficult circumstances; maintaining their academics and a sense of normalcy during and after treatment.

P&G is one of nine participating vendors in the September program. Target's September 19 weekly ad, available in Sunday newspapers and online at Target.com/weeklyad, will include a complete list of participating brands as well as special values on P&G brands supporting St. Jude. In addition, participating brands will be identified with in-store signage during the week of the program.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About St. Jude

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.

SOURCE Procter & Gamble