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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May
01, 2006
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Contacts:
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USO: Tiane Harrison, (703) 908-6433
tharrison@uso.org
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Bass Pro: Larry Whiteley, (417) 873-5022
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lwhiteley@basspro.com
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Bass Pro Shops Launches
Campaign to Raise
Funds for the USO
WASHINGTON
– Bass Pro Shops—America’s
most popular outdoor store—is proud to announce “Reelin’ It in for the Troops,”
a summer promotional campaign to support the USO. Through this promotion, customers can
purchase donation cards, valued at $1.00, $3.00 and $5.00, at any Bass Pro Shops
retail location and write a personal message of support to a service
member. Customers also can make a
donation when calling 1-800 BASSPRO to place an order or when ordering online
at www.basspro.com. All proceeds from the sale of the cards will
support USO programs for military personnel and their families around the
world, with $100,000 earmarked for the Operation USO Care Package program. Messages of support will be included in the care
packages.
Since 2003,
Bass Pro Shops has raised more than $525,000 to support Operation USO Care
Package. Initiated in 2001, this program
provides men and women in uniform with a “touch of home” to help boost the
morale of deployed troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan
and other overseas locations as well as convey gratitude for their service and
sacrifice. Care packages contain an
assortment of items requested by service men and women, such as prepaid
international calling cards, disposable cameras, toiletries and entertainment
items.
“Bass Pro Shops
continuing support has helped the USO to make a difference in the lives of our
men and women in uniform. We are
grateful for their contribution and are extremely excited about the new Bass
Pro Shops summer campaign,” said USO president and CEO Edward
A. Powell.
“All of us at Bass Pro Shops
are proud to be an official partner of the USO
in such a meaningful program and patriotic endeavor as ‘Reelin It In for the
Troops’ and Operation USO Care Package,” said Bass Pro Shops president Jim
Hagale. “We are looking forward to a very successful summer promotion that will
allow us, in some small way, to continue offering a sense of comfort and home
to our brave heroes.”
- more -
A strong
supporter of military personnel, Bass Pro Shops hosts various events throughout
the year to support the “Reelin’ It in for the Troops” program. The company also offers military personnel a
15 percent discount on select merchandise during designated days throughout the
year.
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About Bass Pro Shops: Unequaled in their award-winning concept and
design, Bass Pro Shops current 33 destination retail stores attract some 78
million people annually. Bass Pro Shops,
also a major Internet and catalog retailer, is headquartered in Springfield, Mo. For more information, log on to www.basspro.com.
About the
USO: For more than 65 years, the USO (United Service
Organizations) has been providing morale, welfare and recreational services to U.S. military
personnel and their families. The USO is
a nonprofit, charitable organization, relying on the generosity of the American
people to support its programs and services.
The USO is supported by World Partners AT&T, Inc., BAE SYSTEMS,
Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, Military Channel, S&K
Sales Company and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. Other corporate donors, including the United Way and
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-0600), have
joined thousands of individual donors to support the USO. For more information on the USO, please visit
our Web site at www.uso.org.