Hallmark and (RED)™ Announce Holiday Card Creation Contest
Winning designs to help eliminate AIDS in Africa
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 28, 2008) — Today Hallmark announces it will begin accepting submissions for the company’s first holiday greeting card creation competition. “YourHoliday” is a search for America’s best holiday greeting card creation. The winning designs will be sold online.
From July 28 to August 18, Hallmark will accept submissions online at Hallmark.com/you for the competition, which will be held in partnership with (RED)™. Each eligible design must be appropriate for holiday sending and include designs inspired by (RED) or simply use the color red. This is the second card competition in which a portion of the proceeds benefit the Global Fund. Eight percent of net retail sales of these cards will go to the Global Fund.
“This is our fourth card competition,” notes Hallmark editorial director Ingerlene Embry. “We feel the partnership with (RED) is very appropriate at the time of year we focus on hope and love.”
Finalists will be selected and announced in September. Hallmark will select 20 finalists, produce their cards and sell the cards online. America will then vote for the best of the 20 finalists. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 cash, a trip to (RED) headquarters in New York, and a matching donation will be made to the Global Fund in the winner's name.
About Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Kansas City-based Hallmark has been helping people communicate, celebrate and connect for nearly 100 years. Hallmark greeting cards and other products can be found in more than 43,000 places in the U.S. alone, with the network of Hallmark Gold Crown® stores providing the very best selection. The Hallmark brand also reaches consumers online at Hallmark.com, on newsstands through Hallmark Magazine, and on television through Hallmark Hall of Fame original movies and the top-rated Hallmark Channel. In addition, Hallmark publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in 100 countries across the globe. The company’s Crayola subsidiary provides fun and imaginative ways for children to colorfully express themselves. In 2007, privately held Hallmark reported consolidated net revenues of $4.4 billion. Charitable giving of $16 million a year focuses on the well-being of children and families, vibrant arts and cultural experiences, and basic services for people in need in the communities where Hallmark operates. For more information about the company, visit http://corporate.hallmark.com.
About (RED)™ and (PRODUCT) RED™
(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U.K. only), Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Motorola, Hallmark, Dell and Microsoft.
Since its launch in the spring of 2006, more than $110 million has been generated by (RED) partners and events for the Global Fund. (RED) money is already at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana and Lesotho. For more information, visit http://www.joinred.com/.