New York City, NY – Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope, the innovative national goodwill program that benefits children and families, created a true ‘Day of Hope’ in New York City on June 13th with its 4th Annual charity gala. This year’s event welcomed the philanthropic efforts of the newest members to the Samsung Four Seasons of Hope family: Ice hockey’s greatest player of all time, Wayne Gretzky and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani. The star-studded program also recognized the ongoing charitable efforts of sports legends Magic Johnson, Joe Torre, Boomer Esiason, and Arnold Palmer, in addition to music superstar Jon Bon Jovi. Attendees were treated to a special performance by legendary rock band The Who, featuring Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, who took the stage in their only U.S. appearance for 2005 to raise money for the roster of charities benefited by Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope.
Gotham Hall in New York City provided the venue for Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope sold-out event, which earned more than $800,000 for the participating charities. For the second year in a row, TV stars Regis and Joy Philbin hosted the annual gala fundraiser, which featured a stellar roster of celebrities from the worlds of sports, entertainment and politics. A silent auction of sports memorabilia and other exciting items helped raise additional funds for all of the participating foundations and charities. Among the items up for grabs were a Don Mattingly signed baseball bat and two tickets to sit in a suite with the Yankee legend, a round of golf with Arnold Palmer, a week’s stay in a mountain home in Vail during ski season, and a Wayne Gretsky autographed jersey.
Launched in 2002 by Samsung Electronics America, Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope is an innovative goodwill program dedicated to raising awareness and funds through national retail promotions with Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears and CompUSA. The retailers have encouraged their customers to donate to the program through sales promotions and sweepstakes. Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope program has won recognition for its achievements and by the end of 2005, will have risen over $5 million for charity.
Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Consumer Electronics & North American Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics America, Inc., explained, “Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope is proud to begin its fourth year on such an exciting note. In today’s era of budget cuts to all kinds of social and educational programs, it is enlightening and encouraging to see the good work that can be accomplished when corporations and superstars pool their resources to benefit our communities. Samsung looks forward to being able to support the charitable efforts of these legends for years to come.”
"It is a pleasure to join Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope program and expand it to Canada," said Wayne Gretzky. "Children have so much potential, and by funding ice hockey programs that encourage positive life skills like discipline and teamwork, as well as having fun, we can help them reach that potential. I look forward to the successes The Wayne Gretzky Foundation can achieve together with Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope in Canada to help make a difference in children's lives."
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who honored baseball legend Joe Torre at last year’s event said, “I am honored to be associated with an institution that is part of the very fabric of New York and am grateful to Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope for their generosity and support of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers Foundation. This successful program will support the expansion and renovation of the trauma center at St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, the pre-eminent Level 1 trauma center serving lower Manhattan and the west side, as well as the hospital's community health initiatives that, along with the hospital center, serve over half a million people each year.”
The Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope charities, which are endorsed (and in many cases founded) by the participating superstars themselves, include:
• 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 Wayne Gretzky Foundation. The Wayne Gretzky Foundation is dedicated to helping young people exercise and develop positive life skills through ice hockey.
• The Magic Johnson Foundation. Founded by Magic Johnson following his retirement from the NBA in 1991, the foundation is committed to improving the quality of life for people residing in urban communities.
• 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.
• 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 $35 million has been raised for the cause.
• Jon Bon Jovi’s charities of Philadelphia include: action aids, Pennsylvania’s largest AIDS service organization, 2nd Floor, a free telephone helpline for troubled children and teens, Inn Dwelling, a charity focused on homeless families, and the youth programs of the Police Athletic League (PAL).
For more information about Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope, please visit our website at www.fourseasonsofhope.com.
About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., markets a broad range of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics, information systems and telecommunications products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operations of Samsung’s Consumer Electronics Division, Information Technology Division, Samsung Telecommunications America, Samsung Electronics Canada and Samsung Electronics Mexico. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.
About Samsung Electronics SAMSUNG Electronics Co., Ltd.
is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologieswith 2003 parent company sales of US$36.4 billion and net income of US$5.0 billion. Employing approximately 88,000 people in 89 offices in 46 countries, the company consists of six main business units: Corporate Technology Operations, Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is the world’s largest producer of color monitors, color TVs,memory chips, TFT-LCDs and VCRs.
