EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCE BY GRAMMY-AWARD WINNER JOHN LEGEND HIGHLIGHTS SAMSUNG’S EIGHTH ANNUAL FOUR SEASONS OF HOPE CHARITY GALA
New York Fundraiser Delivers $1 Million to the Charities supported by
John Legend, Dan Marino, Jimmie Johnson, Boomer Esiason, Joe Torre, Arnold Palmer, Wayne Gretzky and Rudy Giuliani
NEW YORK, June 16, 2009 – Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope, a goodwill program benefitting children and families, held its eighth annual celebrity gala tonight at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. “Live with Regis and Kelly” host, Regis Philbin returned for his fifth Samsung gala and was joined by NBC Commentator Bob Costas, who returned for his third gala. Philbin and Costas co-hosted the celebrity-filled event, which included its annual chalk talk and celebrity football toss. Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope recognizes the charitable efforts of sports, entertainment, and political notables, including former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Wayne Gretzky, Arnold Palmer, Jimmie Johnson, Boomer Esiason and Dan Marino through fundraising programs tied to business partners major retailers such as Best Buy, Sears, and the recently added Lowe’s as well as some of its regional partners.
Grammy-Award winner and philanthropist John Legend gave a special live performance to more than 500 guests in attendance where his “Show Me Campaign” was one of the benefiting charities from the evening’s event. The Show Me Campaign’s mission is to end poverty through sustainable development, education and service at the individual, family and community levels. Legend also brought along singer songwriter Estelle and his brother Vaughn to help entertain the crowd as both are part of Legend’s new record label, Home School Records.
“All of the charities involved in this event are doing tremendous work and I applaud their efforts, I was excited to be part of this night,” said John Legend following his performance. The event featured a roster of celebrities from the worlds of sports, entertainment, and politics including newly signed New York Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez and current Quarterback Kellen Clemens; Amani Toomer, New England Patriots Wes Welker; New York Rangers Sean Avery, members of the New York Jets – Kerry Rhodes and Darrelle Revis; Green Bay Packers Running Back Ryan Grant; former NBA star and current ESPN NBA Analyst Jamal Mashburn; TV Star Molly Simms; “All My Children’s” Chrishell Stause, Shannon Kane, Brittany Allen and Melissa Claire Egan; music artist and producer Swizz Beatz; Recording Artists Kelis and Fabolous; Miss USA 2009 Kristen Dalton; Rene Fris of Bravo’s “Shear Genius” and the Winner of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 10 Whitney Thompson. An online and silent auction of unique experiences and sports memorabilia also helped raise funds for all of the participating foundations and charities. The online auction will continue through June 25th atwww.gocharity.com/samsung.
“Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope is proud to begin its eight year on such a positive note by raising nearly million dollars for the program’s charities and providing an amazing performance by John Legend who is also a true philanthropist,” said CS Choi, president and CEO, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. “It is especially exciting and encouraging to see all of our partners and celebrities coming together to benefit children and families. Even during this difficult economic climate, Samsung looks forward to being able to support these charitable efforts as we continue our corporate philanthropy initiatives.”
To date, Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope program has raised more than $20 million for charity, while winning awards and recognition for its achievements. For more information about Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope, please visit our Web site at http://www.fourseasonsofhope.com/ orwww.samsung.com/newsroom.
About Samsung Four Seasons of Hope charities:
– Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women. Located in Orlando, FL, the hospital offers comprehensive healthcare services for children and women as well as nationally acclaimed specialty programs including the Congenital Heart Institute, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the third largest Labor & Delivery department in the nation and the region’s only Level I trauma center.
– Boomer Esiason Foundation to Benefit Cystic Fibrosis. Created by Boomer Esiason and his wife in 1993 after their son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, the foundation works to raise money to find a cure for the genetic disease. To date, more than $50 million has been raised for the cause.
– Jimmie Johnson Foundation. Launched in 2006 with his wife Chandra, the Foundation is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need. In 2007, the couple opened Jimmie Johnson’s Victory Lanes, a four lane bowling center for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses at Victory Junction in Randleman, N.C.
– St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers. Rudy Giuliani’s charitable efforts for St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers, one of the NY metropolitan area’s most comprehensive health care systems, serving 600,000 people annually. The system includes nursing homes, hospice, substance abuse clinics and EMS services across the city.
– The Dan Marino Foundation. The Dan Marino Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides integrated treatment programs, outreach services and research of chronic illnesses and developmental disabilities in children.
– The Wayne Gretzky Foundation. The Wayne Gretzky Foundation is dedicated to helping young people exercise and develop positive life skills through ice hockey.
– The Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. Created in 2002 to bring educational programs into schools and develop community awareness surrounding the issue of domestic violence.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in 134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit http://www.samsung.com./.
About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American operations including Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Semiconductor Inc., Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, the Samsung organization is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. The company was ranked #6 in the Electronics Industry segment in Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies 2008,” and named as one of Fast Company’s “Fast 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2008.” Among popular BusinessWeek rankings, the company ranked #26 in the publication’s “Most Innovative Companies of 2008” and #21 in the “100 Best Global Brands” for 2007. Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. is also a top patent holder, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2007. Please visit http://www.samsung.com/ for more information.
About The Show Me Campaign
The Show Me Campaign is a grassroots movement that engages all of its participants as agents of transformative change from the bottom up.
The Show Me Campaign operates from a basic principle of thoughtful action versus more words and calls on all of us to commit to making a difference in the world. We see power in individuals working in concert toward tangible ends and believe that we all have responsibilities to address the issues that imperil our collective human future
Jose Cardona
Samsung Electronics America
(201) 229-4118
jcardona@sea.samsong.com
Robyn Fink
MWW Group
(212) 704-9727
rfink@mww.com