STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WWE and E! Entertainment today launched the first-ever Superstars for Hope fundraising initiative to support Make-A-Wish, featuring chances to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences available to anyone who makes a contribution. The entertainment powerhouses will also host a Superstars for Hope red carpet party in Los Angeles on Thursday, August 15 at the Beverly Hills Hotel as a part of WWE’s SummerSlam® Week.
Starting today, for every $10 fans and supporters contribute through fundraising partner Omaze, they will receive five chances to win one of two packages donated by WWE and E! Entertainment.
“We are honored to be part of Superstars for Hope in support of Make-A-Wish,” said Suzanne Kolb, President, E! “This wonderful organization endlessly inspires and their incredible work brightens and enriches the lives of so many children and families.”
“WWE’s commitment to granting life-changing experiences is unmatched,” said David Williams, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “We know that having E! join forces with them will mean more life-changing wishes are granted for children with life-threatening medical conditions.”
“We are proud to partner with E! on Superstars for Hope and continue our long-standing support of Make-A-Wish,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. “This is an opportunity for so many people to help children’s wishes come true.”
Once-in-a-lifetime experience packages include:
- WrestleMania 30 New Orleans Party Package: A VIP trip to WrestleMania for four which includes travel and accommodations, access to the WrestleMania 30 red carpet kickoff party, the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and WrestleMania Axxess, along with behind-the-scenes tours, meet-and-greets with WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends, as well as a WWE Championship title signed by WWE Champions John Cena®, Triple H®, Brock Lesnar™ and Undertaker®.
- E! Exclusive Hollywood Experience: A three-day trip to Los Angeles to attend a taping of an E! show such as E! News, Fashion Police, The Soup or Chelsea Lately, a gift basket with Hollywood’s hottest spa essentials and $1,000 spending money for a shopping spree with WWE Divas, The Bella Twins.
For more information or to donate to Superstars for Hope, please visit Omaze.com/WWE and Omaze.com/E!
About SummerSlam®:
For the fifth year in a row, WWE takes over Los Angeles for the biggest pay-per-view event of the summer with SummerSlam on Sunday, Aug. 18. Events include the ultimate fan celebration of the summer — SummerSlam Axxess — at the Nokia Plaza at L.A. LIVE, and a host of community outreach activities including visits to local hospitals, Be a STAR: anti-bullying rallies, reading celebrations, granting Make-A-Wish children one-in-a-lifetime experiences, and a partnership with Susan G. Komen to promote breast cancer awareness and early screening.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit WWE.com/events.
About WWE:
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 150 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
About Omaze:
Omaze raises money and awareness for charity by offering everyone the opportunity to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience that cannot be bought. Instead of limiting these experience offerings to small groups of wealthy donors, Omaze democratizes the opportunity to win by offering everyone on the Internet a chance to participate by donating $10 dollars. By leveraging the social web to promote the experiences to a wider audience, Omaze helps its charity partners raise significantly more funds, increase awareness for their mission and attract a whole new base of donors. For more information about Omaze, visit www.omaze.com.
About Make-A-Wish:
Make-A-Wish® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Based in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes. It has granted more than 226,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; nearly 14,000 in 2012 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at wish.org to learn more.
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Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television and pay-per-view programming distribution agreements; the need for continually developing creative and entertaining programming; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent McMahon; the conditions of the markets in which we compete and acceptance of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; our exposure to bad debt risk; uncertainties relating to regulatory and litigation matters; risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of our markets; uncertainties associated with international markets; the importance of protecting our intellectual property and complying with the intellectual property rights of others; risks associated with producing and travelling to and from our large live events, both domestically and internationally; the risk of accidents or injuries during our physically demanding events; risks relating to our film business; risks relating to increasing content production for distribution on various platforms, including the potential creation of a WWE network; risks relating to our computer systems and online operations; risks relating to the large number of shares of common stock controlled by members of the McMahon family and the possibility of the sale of their stock by the McMahons or the perception of the possibility of such sales; the relatively small public float of our stock; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends, general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant.
