Press Release

Pier 1 Imports Raises $1.9 Million for Children through UNICEF Greeting Card Sales

Sharon Leite, Executive Vice President of Stores at Pier 1 Imports®, the original global importer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts, presented a check Tuesday for $1.9 million to Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, for proceeds raised from the 2012 sales of UNICEF’s holiday greeting cards. One hundred percent of the funds will go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support UNICEF’s child survival and development programs worldwide.

NEW YORK (April 22, 2013) – Sharon Leite, Executive Vice President of Stores at Pier 1 Imports®, the original global importer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts, presented a check Tuesday for $1.9 million to Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, for proceeds raised from the 2012 sales of UNICEF’s holiday greeting cards. One hundred percent of the funds will go to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support UNICEF’s child survival and development programs worldwide.

“Our 28-year partnership with Pier 1 Imports is an exceptional relationship. Beyond the funds they raise to save and protect children, Pier 1 Imports is inspiring a group of advocates for UNICEF’s mission to bring about a day when ZERO children die of causes we know how to prevent,” said Stern.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF recognized Pier 1 Imports’ field leaders and store managers whose remarkable work in engaging store employees and customers has helped increase sales of the annual UNICEF holiday greeting cards by 21 percent over last year.

Among those recognized were store managers Terri Dillard from Palm Beach, Fla., Kimberly Tinkham from Hesperia, Calif., Soren Morales from Miami; and field leaders Leila Newton of the Los Angeles Inland Region and Emily Cannon, accepting on behalf of the Northwest Territory. All traveled to New York to accept their awards.

Pier 1 Imports began selling UNICEF greeting cards in 1985 and is now the world’s largest retailer of the cards. Since its partnership with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF began, Pier 1 Imports has raised more than $32 million in the United States for UNICEF’s programs.

Additionally, the Pier 1 Imports/UNICEF Greeting Card Contest was created in 1992, as a way to help raise awareness of UNICEF’s lifesaving work among American school children. Since its inception, the contest has inspired kids across the country to use their creative talents in meaningful ways. Each year, children ages 14 and under are invited to participate, with the winning design chosen from among thousands of entries and reproduced as an official UNICEF holiday greeting card sold exclusively at Pier 1 Imports stores nationwide.  

Funds from the sale of greeting cards support UNICEF programs that provide lifesaving medicines, vaccines, nutritious foods, primary education, clean water and sanitation, and emergency relief in more than 190 countries and territories worldwide.

About UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when ZERO children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For additional information, please contact:

Hazel Cobb, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.880.9173, hcobb@unicefusa.org