Special Olympians Raise Awareness as Vons Baggers Today

WHAT: Special Olympics athletes and Easter Seals clients will bag groceries at a Long Beach Vons to help raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities. Every year, Vons dedicates the month of April to collecting donations for Easter Seals and Special Olympics. Last year alone, Vons raised $2 million dollars for the organizations and expects to raise $2.2 million this year. In addition to the fundraising support, Vons employs more than 1,400 people with disabilities, which equates to 6% of their total workforce.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 25, 2012

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: 600 East Broadway

Long Beach, CA 90802

About Vons www.vons.com

Vons is the largest division of Safeway, Inc., a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. Safeway operates 1,678 stores in the United States and western Canada, 277 of which are in southern California and southern Nevada that operate under the Vons and Pavilions banners. Vons supports a broad range of charitable and community programs. In 2011, Vons donated more than $14 million to cancer research and schools, as well as programs and services that assist veterans and people with disabilities. 

About Special Olympics Southern California www.sosc.org

Special Olympics Southern California offers year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. More than 11,000 athletes in 11 Southern California counties train and compete in 12 Olympic-type summer and fall sports. There is no cost for athletes to participate in Special Olympics. For more information about how to compete, coach, or contribute, visit www.sosc.org.

About Easter Seals Southern California

Easter Seals Southern California is a leading non-profit organization with more than 60 locations providing creative solutions to help thousands of adults and children living with autism and other disabilities find and keep employment, live in their own homes and not institutions, learn daily living and social skills most of us take for granted, and access pre-school and after-school services.

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Cynthia Figueroa

Marketing and Communications Intern

Special Olympics Southern California

6730 East Carson Street

Long Beach, CA 90808

www.sosc.org