Ellen "The Generous" Raises More Than $450,000 and $20 Million in Product Donations for America's Second Harvest
M&Ms, Starbucks, Uncle Ben's, Dove, Prego, CVS Pharmacy, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Warner Bros. Studios Join Ellen DeGeneres in The Fight Against Hunger
Chicago --- November 29, 2004 --- Ellen DeGeneres is now known as "Ellen The Generous" by many in the hunger-relief community as she adopted America's Second Harvest—The Nation's Food Bank Network as her "charity-of-choice" for Ellen's "Thanks-for-Giving Drive." The campaign is proving to be highly successful, raising more than $450,000 in funds for America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization comprised of 211 food banks and food rescue organizations serving hungry people in every county of the United States.
CVS Pharmacy also donated $20 million of products to Ellen's "Thanks-for-Giving Drive" making the largest product donation America's Second Harvest has received in one day from a retail drug store.
"America's Second Harvest is profoundly grateful to Ellen DeGeneres for her commitment to ending hunger," said Robert Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest. "Ellen's generosity will help bring hope to many of the 36 million Americans suffering from hunger or food insecurity this holiday season and in the coming year."
Ellen's campaign has received significant corporate contributions from M&Ms, Starbucks, Uncle Ben's, Dove, Prego, CVS Pharmacy and Warner Bros. Studios. Additionally, individuals including David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg donated to Ellen's "Thanks-for-Giving Drive," and her on-air promotions raised more than $40,000 in online contributions from viewers.
Actor Colin Farrell, a recent guest on the show, also contributed to Ellen's "Thanks-For-Giving Drive" efforts, donating $1,000 to America's Second Harvest, keeping up his end of a bet with Ellen, in which he promised to pay $100 every time he used foul language during his interview.
According to a recently released USDA report, more than 36 million Americans—including more than 13 million children—suffer from hunger or food insecurity. On average, households living with hunger experience this condition eight or nine months out of the year.
"It is incredibly disheartening that in a country where we produce enough food to feed every American and the rest of the world, people still go to bed hungry each night," said Forney. "The Ellen ‘Thanks-for-Giving Drive' not only helps us reach more hungry Americans, but it also raises awareness among the general public that hunger is a serious problem in the United States.
For more information on America's Second Harvest, please visit www.secondharvest.org. For more information on how to get involved in Ellen's Thanks-For-Giving food drive, go to www.ellendegeneres.com.
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" premiered on September 8, 2003 and was the highest-rated freshman syndicated show of the 2003-2004 season. In May, 2004, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" received four Daytime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Talk Show and made Daytime Emmy history, garnering 12 nominations in its first year, more than any other freshman talk show in the history of the Daytime Emmys. Originating from NBC Studios in Los Angeles, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" is produced by A Very Good Production and WAD Productions, Inc. in association with Telepictures Productions and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
