American Red Cross Honors Telemundo at Heritage of Service Dinner

American Red Cross Honors Telemundo at Heritage of Service Dinner

A Celebration of Inspiration and Hope

WASHINGTON, May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross will honor Telemundo with its prestigious Henry P. Davison Award at the organization's Heritage of Service Dinner this evening. The Heritage of Service Dinner is a celebration to recognize the outstanding dedication and commitment from individuals, organizations, partners and corporations who enable the Red Cross to achieve its noble mission each year. Telemundo is being recognized for its contribution in community service and preparedness through helping the Red Cross reach out to Spanish-speaking audiences. This national, donor recognition event will bring together members of Congress, military leaders, Washington dignitaries, corporate representatives and Red Cross partners and volunteers. Accepting the award for Telemundo will be its President, Don Browne.

"The American Red Cross could not be more delighted to recognize and applaud one of our organization's most dedicated corporate partners," said Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the Red Cross. "Telemundo has helped the Red Cross translate America's compassion, commitment and caring into action by providing our message and mission of hope to many new communities across the country. We are very grateful to Telemundo for enabling the Red Cross to better communicate with all those we serve."

"This award validates Telemundo's commitment to inform, empower, inspire and entertain US Hispanics," said Browne. "It is our honor to accept the award and we are proud to work with the Red Cross in delivering its message to the Hispanic community."

In 1899, at age 32, Henry Davison became the youngest U.S. bank president. In 1917, President Wilson created a War Council to lead the Red Cross through World War I and appointed Davison as its Chairman. Under Davison's leadership, wartime contributions to the Red Cross reached the extraordinary value of $400 million; Red Cross membership grew to 31 million, including 11 million members of the newly created Junior Red Cross; and the number of Red Cross workers surpassed eight million. After the war, Davison spearheaded the drive to form an association of national Red Cross societies to carry on peacetime relief work and served as its first chairman. Today, this association is known as the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

General Electric is the parent company of Telemundo, a division of NBC Universal, the second largest Spanish-language distributor in the world. Telemundo has built a progressive relationship with the Red Cross and has generously used its influence to bring the Red Cross message into homes across the country. Through Telemundo, the Red Cross has solidified its brand and message exposure in the Hispanic community. Since March 2005, Telemundo has invited the Red Cross to attend the Latin Billboard Awards where staff and crew showed their support by wearing Red Cross t-shirts, pins, and other paraphernalia and by allowing the Red Cross to work with Hispanic celebrities. With that invitation, the Red Cross has been able to develop numerous English and Spanish PSAs, which have garnered more than $1 million in free advertising across all Spanish language networks. Since October 2006, Telemundo has aired more than 1,700 Red Cross PSAs, equaling more than half a million dollars. Telemundo has not only given of its resources, they have embraced the Red Cross mission and shared that vision with the Hispanic community.

President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs for the Dinner. General Richard B. Myers, USAF (RET), will serve as the Dinner Chair. General Myers and his wife, Mary Jo Myers, will be the emcees for the event. Preceding the dinner in the American Red Cross Hall of Service, there will be a reception from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. in the American Red Cross Board of Governors Hall in Washington, D.C.

The American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The American Red Cross is a charity, not a government agency, and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission.

Telemundo

Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network, is the essential entertainment, news, and sports source for Hispanics and a leading international player in the entertainment industry with presence in more than 70 countries worldwide. Broadcasting unique national and local programming for the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, Telemundo reaches 93% of U.S. Hispanic viewers in 210 markets through its 16 owned-and-operated stations, 45 broadcast affiliates, and 800 cable affiliates. Telemundo is wholly owned by NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: American Red Cross

CONTACT: Michelle Alban of Telemundo, +1-305-889-7585,
Michelle.Alban@nbcuni.com; or Ana Correa of American Red Cross,
+1-202-437-4193, CorreaA@usa.redcross.org

Web Site:

http://www.redcross.org/

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