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Variety announces the launch of a non-profit initiative geared towards raising the awareness of philanthropic causes. Efforts begin in October with the Variety Power of Youth event and auction, presented by Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics. This is Variety’s first-ever initiative to reach out to Hollywood’s next generation, in the hopes of encouraging them to become involved with humanitarian and philanthropic efforts. The inaugural campaign will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, which was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas. Since its inception, St. Jude has had deep roots in the entertainment community and is currently the leading pediatric research and treatment center for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the hospital. Today Thomas’ legacy continues to thrive through the commitment of his children: Marlo, who serves as the organization’s national outreach director, and Terre and Tony Thomas, who work tirelessly to honor their father’s dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life.” The Variety Power of Youth program has gained the support of more than 60 young actors, including Miley Cyrus, Dakota Fanning, Emma Roberts, Hilary and Haylie Duff, Elijah Kelley, Ashley Tisdale, Sean Faris, Shawn Pyform and Raven Symone. These performers, amongst others, sit on Variety’s Youth Advisory Board to support the call for this generation of entertainers to “get involved & give back.” The Youth Advisory Board is chaired by NBC Universal Television’s Ben Silverman. On October 6, members of the Youth Advisory Board, invited guests and St. Jude patients and their families will attend a fun, interactive, lunchtime event featuring performances and other surprises. Guests will have the chance to meet their favorite young stars and learn more about the life-saving work being done at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To raise funds for St. Jude, an online auction, featuring once-in-a-lifetime experience packages donated from the entertainment community, will run live online from Oct. 1 through Oct. 19. Proceeds from the first week of the auction will be presented to Marlo Thomas during the lunchtime event, with total net proceeds going to St. Jude upon completion of the auction. The auction will be hosted by CharityFolks, a globally recognized auction house and the leading online marketplace for non-profit fundraising and celebrity-driven charity initiatives. Variety has been collecting auction items, including premiere packages, VIP backstage opportunities, luxury goods and services and one-of-a-kind memorabilia, which are being donated by studios, networks, talent and consumer brands to support the effort. Items will be accepted up until the Sept. 30 deadline for donations. This endeavor, managed by Brian Gott, Variety’s VP & Associate Publisher, marks the first in an ongoing series of philanthropic efforts designed to benefit various non-profit organizations. “I believe it’s really important that Variety use its unique position as the most trusted resource in the media and entertainment space to be a catalyst for action. If Variety can be a part of encouraging each of our readers to chose just one philanthropic cause to champion, we can effect real, substantive change,” Gott said. “Frankly, the response from our industry has been overwhelming – from the talent that’s joined our advisory board, to the generous contributions for the auction made by companies we’ve reached out to thus far – this really is becoming a community effort.” “We are thrilled to be part of an event that supports such a worthwhile cause as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Jeff Jackson, vice president of marketing for Tiger Electronics. “Tiger Electronics has long been known for marrying entertainment and technology to provide fun, interactive experiences for tweens and we are excited that the guests at the Variety Power of Youth event will have the chance to enjoy some of our latest innovations.” As the presenting sponsor, Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics, the brand that has earned a reputation over the years for identifying and bringing to market some of the hottest tech toys for tweens, will feature a range of fun, interactive demonstrations of their new fall line up, including POWER TOUR Electric Guitar, MIO PUP, I-DOG, AMP’D, NET JET and TOOTH TUNES. Additional corporate and associate sponsors for the Variety Power of Youth event to date include The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company. About The Variety Group/Reed Business Information (RBI): The Variety Group – Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Weekly Variety, Variety China, Variety.com, 411 Publishing, Video Business and Tradeshow Week – are all owned by Reed Business Information (RBI), the largest business publisher in the U.S. RBI is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: RUK and ENL) – a world-leading publisher and information provider operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors. About Hasbro: Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of game and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world. About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tennessee, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization.
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For more information visit www.stjude.org.
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