Kaufmann’s Supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital With Milestone Mickey Holiday Promotion

BOSTON, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaufmann’s today announced that its 2004 Holiday purchase-with-purchase program will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and will feature four exclusive Milestone Mickey plush characters celebrating the 75th anniversary of Mickey Mouse. Each plush character commemorates a key milestone in Mickey’s career: Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released in 1928; Sorcerer Mickey, the appearance of Mickey in the 1940 Walt Disney movie “Fantasia” as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Mouseketeer Mickey, the 1955 television debut of the “Mickey Mouse Club"; and Celebration Mickey, the celebration of his 75th anniversary in 2004.

“The Milestone Mickey plush characters are available in all of our stores,” said Tom Kingsbury, president and chief executive officer at Kaufmann’s. “We are excited to offer this exclusive and dynamic promotion that not only commemorates the anniversary of an American icon, but contributes to such a worthy institution in the spirit of this special season. St. Jude is a distinctive pediatric treatment and research facility that provides exceptional medical care to thousands of children each year.”

The four 22-inch collectible Milestone Mickey plush characters are available in all Kaufmann’s stores and also can be purchased online. Designed by The May Department Stores Company in partnership with The Walt Disney Company, the handcrafted Mickey Mouse plush characters are exclusive to May and unlike anything Disney has offered in the past. The Milestone Mickey characters are valued at $40 and will sell for $15.99 each, with a purchase of $25 or more required for each Milestone Mickey character.

Through The May Department Stores Foundation, Kaufmann’s will donate $1 from the sale of each Milestone Mickey to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Thanks & Giving national campaign. The Thanks & Giving campaign was created by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and actress Marlo Thomas, the daughter of St. Jude’s founder, Danny Thomas, to help put meaning and true giving back into the holidays. The program encourages everyone to give thanks for the healthy children in their lives while giving to help children who are desperately sick. Funds from the program support St. Jude in finding cures and saving the lives of children in every community.

To encourage participation, Kaufmann’s is inviting customers to register in its stores for Disney vacations for eight to Walt Disney World, sets of four collector’s limited-edition and numbered 5-foot Milestone Mickey plush characters, and Mickey Mouse 19-inch color stereo TVs. The drawing will be held in January 2005.

This is the fourth year Kaufmann’s has supported a nonprofit organization through its annual purchase-with-purchase program. Previous promotions have raised a total of $1 million for nonprofit organizations in May’s markets across the country.

Kaufmann’s is a division of The May Department Stores Company, one of the largest department store retailers in the United States with annual sales of $14.2 billion. Kaufmann’s which operates under Filene’s/Kaufmann’s, has annual sales of $3.4 billion, operates 102 stores including 47 Filene’s stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and New York and 55 Kaufmann’s stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and New York.

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. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares it discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization.

Kaufmann’s

CONTACT: Regina Norfolk of Kaufmann’s, +1-617-357-2768

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