(Sources: Yahoo! Finance)
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 21, 2005–World Wrestling Entertainment® (WWE) announced today it has joined America Supports You, a Department of Defense program that showcases and communicates America’s support for the men and women of the Armed Forces. By officially joining the team, WWE® is expanding its longstanding support of military men and women and their families. As part of the organization’s participation in the program, WWE is sponsoring a letter-writing campaign to the troops as part of the fan activities for the Great American Bash® Pay-Per-View, which is airing on Sunday, July 24 from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
WWE is offering to send every person who writes a letter to the troops a free Great American Bash poster featuring WWE Diva Torrie Wilson®. To send your letter to the troops, go to www.wwe.com/play/sweepstakes/gab. The letters will be posted on WWE’s dedicated military website, troops.wwe.com, for our military men and women around the world to view. WWE has also established a link on the site to America Supports You (www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil) so people can learn how they can become more involved in supporting the military personnel in their communities.
“WWE takes great pride in joining with the other organizations who are part of America Supports You to encourage our fans and all Americans to show their support for the men and women of the Armed Forces who risk their lives protecting our freedom, and to their families and loved ones,” said Gary Davis, WWE Vice President, Corporate Communications. “We have a vibrant military support program of our own at WWE, and we look forward to further expanding those activities as part of America Supports You and to possibly working with other America Supports You partners to support our troops.”
“World Wrestling Entertainment has set an amazing example through their years of unwavering support for our troops,” said Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications and Public Liaison. “We are thrilled to count them as members of the America Supports You team and look forward to working with them as they continue to offer their thanks to our brave men and women serving domestically and abroad.”
World Wrestling Entertainment and its Superstars have undertaken several activities to support our troops:
* WWE Superstars were some of the first celebrities to visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital as they returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those visits have continued on a regular basis.
* For the past two years, WWE SmackDown!® Superstars have performed a televised holiday special from Iraq that was broadcast to Americans and troops around the globe. A limited edition DVD of the holiday events is now on sale, with some of the proceeds going to the USO’s Operation Care Package.
* WWE has sent millions of dollars worth of t-shirts, videos and DVDs, promotional items, magazines and CDs to military personnel operating on the front lines.
* WWE Superstars regularly visit military bases and hospitals at home and abroad. In addition to regular visits to the Middle East and Iraq with Armed Forces Entertainment, WWE Superstars have flown aboard naval carriers, met troops in Japan, Korea and Germany, and participated in re-enlistment ceremonies at the request of Navy and Army personnel.
* WWE Superstars participate in special events and appearances such as The American Freedom Festival, A Tribute to America’s Veterans concert, luncheons at the Pentagon, the National Guard ChallNGe Program, and the Army Ball, and have raised tens of thousands of dollars for USO Operation Care Package and the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.
* WWE has created Public Service Announcements featuring WWE Superstars in support of such initiatives as USO Operation Care Package, Get Out the Vote, and TroopTalk, a program of the Armed Forces YMCA.
As part of the America Supports You team, WWE will be providing PSAs in support of our troops, will participate in America Supports You events, and will generally promote the program and keep its fans informed of opportunities for supporting the troops.
About America Supports You
Since the launch of the America Supports You program last November, more than 2.1 million Americans, including individual citizens, businesses and organizations, have logged onto the AmericaSupportsYou.mil Web site to register the activities and projects in their communities that show their support for America’s Armed Forces, especially those serving in harm’s way. Every person who registers on the site will receive an America Supports You dog tag to wear as a visible sign of support. The America Supports You dog tags feature the program logo on a military-style dog tag.
Thanks again for reading,
Joe
