U.S. Fund for UNICEF announces call for entries for annual greeting card contest with Pier 1 Imports
Children ages 14 and under invited to submit designs
NEW YORK (January 30, 2009) — The U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced today the call for entries for its annual Pier 1 greeting card contest, in which a child’s winning design is turned into an official UNICEF greeting card, sold exclusively at Pier 1 Imports stores across the country during the 2009 holiday season. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of this, as well as all UNICEF cards sold at Pier 1, go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to help in its mission to decrease the number of preventable childhood deaths from 25,000 each day to zero.
The contest, open to children ages 14 and under, begins next week on February 1 and runs through March 6, with the winner announced in April. This year’s theme is "Joy to the World." In addition to having their design turned into a greeting card, the winner will receive a grand prize $5,000 scholarship, along with $500 worth of art supplies for their school.
New this year is a “People’s Choice Award,” in which visitors to the Pier 1 website can vote on their favorite design from April 1 to 15. The “People’s Choice” winner will receive $500 worth of art supplies.
Entry forms are available in all Pier 1 Imports stores nationwide while supplies last, online at pier1.com and unicefusa.org, or by calling Pier 1’s Customer Relations Department at 1.800.245.4595. All entries must be hand-drawn and received by Pier 1 Imports’ Corporate Headquarters by March 6, 2009. The children’s artwork will be judged on artistic quality and creative interpretation of the theme “Joy to the World.”
The 2008 contest marked a second win for the Kao family of Roseville, CA with younger brother Wesley designing a card featuring five snowmen and snowwomen holding on to a string of lights. The previous year, Wesley’s sister Josephine was one of two winners for her design of colorful candy canes striped with flags from around the world.
The card contest started in 1992 as a way to help raise awareness among U.S. school children about UNICEF’s important work and has inspired kids from coast to coast to use their creative talents in a meaningful way. This year’s contest marks 24 years of a partnership between the specialty home furnishings retailer and the international children’s organization. Pier 1 started selling UNICEF greeting cards in 1985 and is now the world’s largest retailer of UNICEF greeting cards, having raised over $26 million for UNICEF.
Funds from the sale of cards support UNICEF programs that provide lifesaving medicines, vaccines, nutritious foods, primary education, clean water and sanitation and emergency relief for millions of children and women in 156 countries and territories.
About UNICEF
For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading international children’s organization, working in over 150 countries to address the ongoing issues that affect why kids are dying. UNICEF provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. While millions of children die every year of preventable causes like dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF, with the support of partnering organizations and donors alike, has the global experience, resources and reach to give children the best hope of survival. For more information about UNICEF, please visit unicefusa.org.
About PIER 1 IMPORTS
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. is the original global importer and is North America’s largest specialty retailer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts. Information about the Company is available on pier1.com.
For more information, please contact:
Marci Greenberg, U.S. Fund for UNICEF Media, 212.922.2464
