Contact: Liz VanScoy
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Dolly Parton and Betty White Partner with Paul Mitchell Schools
Legendary Entertainers Join Annual Fundraising Campaign
For the eighth consecutive year, the nationwide network of Paul Mitchell beauty schools will spend the months of February through April raising money for charitable organizations. In 2010, the schools raised an all-time high of $1.2 million, bringing their seven-year total to over $4.6 million.
This year they plan to raise $1.5 million for six organizations: Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation, Food 4 Africa, and newcomers Morris Animal Foundation, represented by Betty White, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
“We’re so excited to welcome Betty White and Dolly Parton this year,” said Paul Mitchell Schools Dean and Cofounder Winn Claybaugh. “Both of these incredible women will play an active role in motivating and encouraging our 12,000 future professionals as they take part in thousands of grassroots ‘FUNraisers,’ from cut-a-thons and car washes to fashion shows and charity balls. They’ve also joined an elite group of wonderful celebrities who’ve supported us in the past, including Larry King, Fran Drescher, and Vidal Sassoon.”
Country music superstar Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1996, to benefit the children of her home county in east Tennessee. She wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families, and she wanted to ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income. “All of the wonderful folks at Paul Mitchell Schools love kids as much as I do, so it is an honor to work with them to bring the joy of books to kids all over America,” she said.
Emmy-award winning TV star and animal activist Betty White has served on the Morris Animal Foundation board of trustees since 1971. Since its inception in 1948, the foundation has funded more than 1,600 humane animal health studies. Today, its funding supports more than 200 animal health and welfare research studies each year at the world’s most respected research institutions, colleges of veterinary medicine, and zoos. Betty is the organization’s president emeritus and she has sponsored nearly 30 health studies for the foundation. “Partnering with Paul Mitchell Schools is such a wonderful opportunity to help advance the health and well-being of our animal friends,” she said. “On behalf of Morris Animal Foundation, thank you.”
The Magic of Memories dinner, the highlight of the annual fundraising effort, will take place on Sunday, May 1, 2011, in Newport Beach, California. This year’s dinner will be co-hosted by radio and TV personality Leeza Gibbons and John Paul Mitchell Systems CEO John Paul DeJoria, with additional support from Dolly Parton, Betty White, Donny and Marie Osmond, and representatives of the other supported charities. The event celebrates all of the participating schools while raising additional money.
Paul Mitchell Schools proudly report that the cost incurred in raising the $4.6 million has been just $68,462 —an amazingly low 1.5%, especially compared to the national average of 25%. “At our Paul Mitchell Schools’ family, we are very proud of our commitment to raising money and awareness for a variety of causes and organizations,” Winn Claybaugh says. “We do not spend $300,000 to raise $1 million. Last year, our Paul Mitchell future professionals raised $1.2 million, and we gave $1.2 million to our beneficiaries.”
Some of the top beneficiaries to date include:
Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation $812,987
Larry King Cardiac Foundation $300,000
Children’s Miracle Network $200,000
Habitat for Humanity $170,000
Food 4 Africa $250,000
NCA Disaster Relief Fund $154,000
Cancer Schmancer $100,000
Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart $125,000
City of Hope $87,000
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network $50,000
CUT IT OUT $25,000
Kathy Buckley’s No Limits $20,000
Returning to the campaign for the second year, Children’s Miracle Network founders Donny and Marie Osmond said, “In our family, we were raised to believe we all have a responsibility to give back and help others. We feel like we’ve found an extended family in Paul Mitchell Schools. From last year’s generous donation (twice the amount they originally promised) to the way they’ve reached out locally to the 170-plus Children’s Miracle Network hospitals with their love, service, and passion, Paul Mitchell Schools have shown that giving back is not just about raising money.”
Leeza Gibbons, whose Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation has been a supported charity since the campaign began, says, “If I could start all over, I swear I would sign up to be a student at the Paul Mitchell Schools. These future professionals prove over and over again that they are committed to using their talents and passion for the greater good, and they really know how to spread the love!”
Visit www.magicofmemories.com for more information.