PCH: A Company that Keeps on Giving
As you know, Publishers Clearing House gives away millions of dollars each year to a multitude of prize winners in our famous sweepstakes. Less well known is the fact that over 40 percent of the profits we earn goes directly to charitable organizations to benefit causes ranging from the arts to social services to the environment.
While we are keenly aware and supportive of charitable enterprises, we know that there are also many individuals out there who have devoted their lives to helping others, with no desire for recognition or material gain. These people are also “winners” in our book. True, they are not the lucky folks receiving our Big Checks or winners of games, talent shows, elections, or the competitions of every description that are on TV “24/7.” But they are winners just the same.
For many years PCH honored ten outstanding community volunteers annually with its Good as Gold Award. These “winners” were nominated by media from across the USA, then selected by an independent panel of judges. They were surprised in the usual Publishers Clearing House fashion: with an unannounced visit from the Prize Patrol — toting roses, balloons, a crystal trophy and a $10,000 check. Some were visited at their homes, some at their service locations, some on TV talk shows. In their modesty all of them were amazed that PCH would single them out since they rarely had the time (or even the inclination) to enter the Publisher Clearing House Sweepstakes.
Our Good as Gold honorees hailed from all over the country and included individuals from age 11 (a young man who could be an international statesman someday) to age 100 (a dapper gent who dazzled nursing home audiences at the piano). In between there were teenagers and college students mobilizing their contemporaries to community service and middle-aged folks and retirees giving back through soup kitchens, food pantries and programs to help the disadvantaged of all kinds.
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csE28CwAIlg[/tube]
The selfless dedication of these honorees was and remains inspiring to all of us at PCH. We are also tremendously pleased to see many of our sweepstakes winners sharing their newfound affluence with their favorite causes. AND fans of PCH tell us that giving money to charity is one of the first things they would do if they won a Big Check from Publishers Clearing House.
To continue our tradition of giving we have just launched The Give Back, a new charity event that takes place exclusively on our PCH Fan page. How does it work? There are two stages. In Stage One we’re asking fans like you to vote for your favorite charitable causes. You can vote every day to Fight Disease, Save The Environment, Protect The Animals, Help The Homeless, Develop Communities, Improve Education, Enrich The Arts, Promote Sports, Provide Disaster Relief or Support The Troops.
In Stage Two, The Give Back Charity Committee will select a specific charity from each of the top 3 vote-getting causes. Then, you’ll vote again, this time for the one that means the most to you. The one with the most votes will receive $25,000.00, and the charities in second and third place will receive $2,500.00 each. And, since we do love to award prizes to our loyal fans, you can enter for a chance to win $5,000.00 of your own!
But remember: to give money to charity PCH needs fans like you! Just vote for your favorite charitable causes on the PCH Fan page. And please, share this opportunity with all your Facebook friends.
Thanks for reading this. You are as “good as gold”!
Dave Sayer
Prize Patrol Ambassador
