Members Project® from American Express and FOX's GLEE Cast Hosted Unprecedented Charity Event Benefiting Education Through Music, Inc.

Members Project® from American Express and FOX's GLEE Cast Hosted Unprecedented Charity Event Benefiting Education Through Music, Inc.

10 Lucky Winners Volunteered alongside Members of GLEE Cast

American Express and FOX Donated $100,000 to Education Through Music to Further Positively Impact Disadvantaged Youth

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Members Project® from American Express and TakePart partnered with FOX's critically acclaimed hit series GLEE on an unprecedented charity event to benefit the non-profit organization Education Through Music, Inc. on Tuesday, December 7 at the series' production studios in Los Angeles.

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American Express provided 10 lucky winners and their guests a trip to Los Angeles for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a special charity event alongside members of the GLEE cast. The event benefited Education Through Music, a non-profit organization that promotes the integration of music into the curricula of disadvantaged schools in order to enhance students' academic performance and general development.

GLEE cast members in attendance included: Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz, Jayma Mays, Harry Shum Jr., Dot-Marie Jones and Romy Rosemont.

During the volunteer event held on the Paramount lot - the home of GLEE - the 10 winners, their guests and cast members from GLEE interacted with children from disadvantaged Los Angeles-area elementary schools aligned with the Education Through Music program. With the help of GLEE cast members, the winners and their guests, the children made their very own musical instruments, including guitars, tambourines, egg shakers, jingle bells and more!

The event culminated in American Express donating $100,000 to Education Through Music to further impact children in a positive way.

"Giving back is a core value at American Express and being a 'good citizen' is a hallmark of the brand," said Louis Paskalis, Vice President, Global Media, Content Development, American Express. "With Members Project, everyone is empowered to get involved, whether it's volunteering, making a donation or voting for a charity they believe deserves additional funding. We teamed up with GLEE to encourage everyone to get involved and take action, because one small step can make a big difference."

GLEE and Members Project created a broad spectrum of promotional video and online content in the distinctive voice of the series to spark dialogue about doing good versus doing nothing and to motivate fans to take a step toward making a difference. Fans were asked to log on to membersproject.com/GLEE to participate in an interactive quiz to find out if they are more like "Shue" (good through and through like teacher and GLEE club leader Will Schuester) or "Sue" (bad to the bone like scheming cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester) and were also directed to ways that they can get involved with Members Project by volunteering, voting or donating.

ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, twitter.com/americanexpress and youtube.com/americanexpress.

ABOUT "GLEE"

Now in its sophomore season, GLEE is a biting musical comedy about a group of eager and ambitious students who strive to outshine their singing competition to win Nationals while navigating the cruel halls of McKinley High that has quickly become a pop-culture phenomenon. This season's No. 1 entertainment series among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens boasts critical acclaim, a loyal fan base of "GLEEks," two certified Gold albums, more than 11.5 million song downloads, the record for the most titles on the Billboard Hot 100 by a non-solo act (beating out The Beatles), an incredible 19 Emmy nominations - earning it the distinction of being the most-nominated series of the year - and four Emmy Awards. To top it off, the genre-defying, award-winning series has been picked up through its third season. GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk, Brennan and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers. Become a fan of GLEE on Facebook at facebook.com/GLEE and follow the series on Twitter at twitter.com/GLEEonfox. GLEE airs Tuesdays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

ABOUT FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY

Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) is a unit of News Corporation and the leading broadcast television network among Adults 18-49. FOX finished the 2009-2010 season at No. 1 for the sixth consecutive year - a broadcast television industry record - while continuing to dominate all network competition in the more targeted Adults 18-34 and Teen demographics. This past season, FOX ranked No. 1 in the November broadcast television sweep, winning by the largest margin of victory achieved by any network in the November sweep in five years, and garnered its first fall season win ever among Adults 18-49. FOX airs 15 hours of primetime programming a week as well as late-night entertainment programming, major sports and Sunday morning news.

ABOUT EDUCATION THROUGH MUSIC

Education Through Music, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation based in New York City that is committed to advancing students' academic and personal development by ensuring that all children have access to high-quality music education. For more information, visit www.ETMonline.org.

Watch GLEE Tuesdays at 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT on FOX

SOURCE American Express

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American Express

CONTACT: Heter Myers, PMK*BNC for American Express, +1-212-373-6111, Heter.myers@pmkbnc.com

Web Site: http://www.americanexpress.com

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