Bob Costas to Host First Ever 'American Giving Awards' on NBC, 12/10

NBC will broadcast the first ever American Giving Awards, presented by Chase and hosted by 22-time Emmy Award winner Bob Costas, in a two-hour primetime special on Saturday, December 10, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Produced by Dick Clark productions and Intersport, the American Giving Awards will grant a total of $2 million to the five featured charitable organizations, which were selected from a list of 25 previous CCG grant recipients with the help of some of Chase's online customers as well as Chase Community Giving (CCG) Facebook fans. The organization with the most votes will receive a $1 million grant, the runner-up will be granted $500,000, a third organization will receive a $250,000 grant and two will be given $125,000 grants.

"I'm happy to be a part of a program that promises some excellent entertainment in support of some very worthy causes," said Bob Costas.

Each charity will be presented by top stars from motion pictures, television, music and sports, who will introduce five remarkable organizations. Along the way, there will be special musical performances and several surprises for the charities being honored.

"We are excited to televise the first ever American Giving Awards and celebrate these terrific charities," said Doug Vaughan, Senior Vice President, Special Programs and Late Night for NBC. "We hope that this event will draw even more support for all of the causes featured in this special telecast."

The five finalists to be honored at the AGAs each represent one of the five categories recognizing the "building blocks" of our communities:

Educators & Mentors

Let's Get Ready, Inc., of New York, NY, works to expand college access for motivated, low-income high school students by providing free SAT preparation and college admission counseling.

Champions of Health & Wellness

To Write Love on Her Arms, of Cocoa, FL, is dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Heroes & Leaders

Wish Upon a Hero Foundation, Inc., of Moorestown, NJ, utilizes social media and technology to connect those in need of support, including patients with long-term illnesses, military families, and natural disaster survivors, with people who can fulfill their wishes and truly change their lives.

Community Builders

Move for Hunger, Inc., of Neptune, NJ, works with moving companies across America to pick up the unopened, non-perishable food items from people during the moving process and deliver it to their local food banks.

Youth Developers

Matthew Shepard Foundation, of Casper, WY, was created in the memory of anti-gay hate crime victim Matthew Shepard to encourage respect for human dignity and difference by raising awareness, opening dialogues, and promoting positive change.

Chase Community Giving leverages the power of social media to "crowdsource" how charitable dollars should be allocated. This program was developed by Chase to complement its charitable giving, which totals over $150 million annually. Chase Community Giving relies on its nearly 3 million fans on Facebook to help decide which local nonprofits should receive grant money from Chase. Since its inception in 2009, CCG fans have helped Chase award over $15 million to 400 local charities across the country representing causes such as building schools in Africa, providing food and shelter to the homeless, and supporting the performing arts.

The final round of voting for the American Giving Awards opens on December 1, 2011 and closes on December 8, 2011.

During the voting period, participants may vote for charities on Facebook and in some cases on the Chase.com platform. For more information on the program and how to vote, please visit http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving.

About Bob Costas

Bob Costas, 22-time Emmy Award-winner is one of the most respected and honored broadcasters of his generation. He has been named "National Sportscaster of the Year" an unprecedented eight times. Bob has covered nearly every major sport, though most identified with the Olympics and baseball. He has been with NBC since 1979 and currently serves as the host of "Football Night in America." He began working for the Major League Baseball Network in 2009. He is also a bestselling author. Costas began his broadcasting career in 1973 at WSYR-TV and Radio in Syracuse, N.Y. He later joined KMOX Radio in St. Louis. One of television's most gifted interviewers; Costas won acclaim as the host of HBO's "CostasNOW," a monthly one-hour sports magazine program.

About Chase

Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. Chase serves consumers and small businesses through 5,200 bank branches, 16,200 ATMs, mortgage offices, and online and mobile banking as well as through relationships with auto dealerships and schools and universities. Chase also has issued more than 90 million credit cards. More information about Chase is available at www.chase.com.

About Dick Clark productions, inc.

Founded in 1957, Dick Clark productions, inc. (dcp) is a leading independent producer of television programming. dcp produces perennial hits such as the "American Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Academy of Country Music Awards," and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest." dcp also produces popular weekly television programming, including "So You Think You Can Dance," and owns and maintains one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment libraries, which includes more than 30 years of "American Bandstand" footage. For additional information about dcp, please visit www.dickclarkproductions.com.

About Intersport

For 25 years, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports and entertainment based marketing platforms. Intersport provides turnkey solutions for global brands by combining two divisions: Sponsorship & Event Marketing and Television & Digital Media. The Emmy-award winning producers within Intersport's Television Programming & Production Division specialize in the delivery of customized media solutions through original content, robust distribution and organic brand messaging within quality programming. Intersport delivers content to all broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). To learn more about Intersport, log on to www.intersportnet.com, like us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/IntersportBuzz) or follow us on Twitter (@IntersportBuzz).

For more information on the "American Giving Awards" visit NBC.com's "Movies & Specials" site: http://www.nbc.com/specials.

Please follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NBC and on Twitter at @NBC.

 

 

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