Local Houston charity to receive $50,000
HOUSTON--(Business Wire)--GE announced today that it would donate a total of $200,000 to
four charities during the two-hour season finale of NBCU's live
competition show, "Clash of the Choirs."
In "Clash of the Choirs," NBCU tapped five musical superstars --
Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake
Shelton to embark on a musical challenge - to create America's
"greatest" choir. One choir, Team Lachey, was voted by viewers at home
as America's "greatest choir" and won the grand prize that will
benefit their hometown.
In the spirit of the holiday season, GE will give $50,000 to each
of the other four competing choirs so they may give back to their
hometown charities as well.
Locally, musical celebrity Kelly Rowland and her choir received
$50,000 to support their local charity in Houston, Texas. Bread of
Life is a non-profit organization associated with Kelly Rowland's
church, St. John's United Methodist. Kelly and long-time friend,
Beyonce Knowles, donated over $250,000 to augment the church's work
and outreach in the community. The organization now has a transitional
housing unit named in their honor, "The Knowles-Rowland Temenos Place
Apartments," where at-risk families, the homeless, persons with
HIV/AIDS, and developmentally disabled receive free temporary or
long-term housing.
"In a competition that is all about making a difference in our
communities, we believe it was important to extend generosity to all
the charities that were represented by the various choirs," said Mat
Castaneda, general manager sales, North America for GE's Oil & Gas
business. "This was a great opportunity to make everyone a winner in
this competition."
Below are the other hometown charities that were each given
$50,000:
-- Michael Bolton - Domestic Violence Services of Greater New
Haven & Yale Child Study Center Family Support Services - New
Haven, CT
Team Bolton sang to support the Domestic Violence Services of
Greater New Haven, a private, nonprofit organization that helps
thousands of victims of domestic violence every year. Team Bolton also
supported the Yale Child Study Center Family Support Services, a
facility that delivers treatment services directly to the home of
children coping with specific family problems and stresses.
-- Patti LaBelle - The Abramson Cancer Center & With Our Voices -
Philadelphia, PA
Team LaBelle sang to support The Abramson Cancer Center, a
national leader in cancer research, patient care, and education. The
monetary contribution will go towards With Our Voices, a special
research and outreach program for African Americans in the
Philadelphia area to improve their access and usage of cancer
screenings in breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.
-- Blake Shelton - Project Rebuild & Army MWR - Oklahoma City, OK
Team Shelton was singing to support Project Rebuild, an
organization dedicated to giving relief to Oklahoma residents who have
lost homes in recent national disasters. Team Shelton was also
supporting Army MWR, a comprehensive network of support and leisure
services designed to enhance the lives of soldiers and their families.
Their mission is to serve the needs, interests and responsibilities of
each individual in the Army community for as long as they are
associated with the Army, no matter where they are.
Earlier this week on the series premiere, GE announced a $250,000
contribution to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) whose primary
mission is to help build better lives for disabled veterans and their
families.
About GE
GE is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and
financial services company focused on solving some of the world's
toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft
engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to
medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and
advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and
employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information,
visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.
About GE's Oil & Gas business
GE's Oil & Gas business (www.ge.com/oilandgas) is a world leader
in advanced technology equipment and services for all segments of the
global oil and gas industry. Based in Florence, Italy, the company
offers complete solutions for production, LNG, transportation,
storage, refineries, and petrochemicals, as well as pipeline integrity
solutions including pipeline inspection and pipeline asset management.
Through its recent acquisition of VetcoGray, GE Oil & Gas has added
products, systems and services for onshore and offshore drilling,
completion and production to its portfolio.
About NBC Universal's "Clash of the Choirs"
'Clash of the Choirs', a live four-night musical event that aired
on NBC Universal this week. Five musical superstars -- Michael Bolton,
Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton - embraced
a musical challenge as they returned to their hometowns to assemble an
amateur choir. Each celebrity's choir was not only competing for the
title of America's best choir, but for the opportunity to give$250,000
to a charity of their choice. For more information visit
www.nbc.com/clashofthechoirs.
GE Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Houston
Paul Doucette, 713.647.2227 (cell)
Paul.Doucette@ge.com
or
GE Corporate, Fairfield
Britta Barrett
203.373.2389 (office)
203.400.1892 (cell)
Britta.Barrett@ge.com
Copyright Business Wire 2007
