Miracle Children Experience A Kodak Moment in Washington, D.C.

Children's Miracle Network
Friday, 9 March 2001

Kodak renews, expands sponsorship for Children's Miracle Network program, Hosts tour of D.C. area for Youth Ambassadors

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 8, 2001 – Eastman Kodak Company and Children's Miracle Network (CMN) today announced that Kodak will become a presenting sponsor of CMN's Champions Across America program in April. The sponsorship is part of a larger package that will include event signage and participation, a national television component, a paid-advertising agreement and public relations execution.

The Champions program features a child from each state who has been successfully treated at a Children's Miracle Network-affiliated hospital. The children are chosen to represent the 14 million kids treated in children's hospitals across the country each year. At the invitation of the White House, the children are brought to Washington, D.C. to tell the story of how important children's hospitals are to the community and discuss how citizens can support them through CMN. The group then travels to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. to help kick-off the annual CMN fundraising campaign. This is the sixth consecutive year of the program.

Specifically, Kodak will sponsor a sightseeing tour of the D.C. area, providing Kodak one-time-use cameras and other picture-related prizes for the children and their families. Kodak will also facilitate A Kodak Moment group photo at the Jefferson Memorial and provide a copy of the photo to each family as a memento.

"Kodak is a big advocate of saving and improving the lives of children," said Garry Briddon, General Manager and Vice President of U.S. Trade Relations and Business Development, Consumer Imaging, US&C, Eastman Kodak Company. "We're dedicated to joining with our retail partners in support of this great organization. By participating as a sponsor and incorporating photography into CMN's Champions Across America program, not only will we be helping these children and their families remember this wonderful event, but we'll also help millions of other children who remain hospitalized to experience the event as well through pictures."

The children and their families will arrive in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 3, and attend a welcome reception at ESPN Zone. After the sightseeing tour Wednesday morning, they will visit with Senators from their states at a luncheon in the Hart Senate Office Building. A White House visit with President and Mrs. Bush will be followed by interviews with hometown media that evening. On Thursday, the group will travel to Orlando via private jet service provided by Delta Air Lines. The program's title sponsor is the Independent Order of Foresters.

"Hospitalized children all over the country have a good friend in Kodak," said Clark Sweat, Vice President of Retail Development, Children's Miracle Network. "In the three years Kodak has partnered with Children's Miracle Network, the company has contributed millions of dollars to helping kids get better. Their sponsorship of this program will allow us to tell even more people about what we do, increasing their contribution several times over."

Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Children's Miracle Network is an international non-profit organization dedicated to helping children by raising funds and awareness for 170 children's hospitals throughout North America. Each year these non-profit hospitals treat more than 14 million children afflicted with diseases, injuries and birth defects of every kind.

For more information, or to contact Children's Miracle Network, see their website at: www.cmn.org