Sears Good Life Alliance Donates 60,000 Volunteer Hours in One Week To Communities Nationwide

This week, more than 15,000 Sears volunteers will celebrate the first ever Sears Volunteer Week by donating more than 60,000 hours of time in communities nationwide.

Sears Volunteer Week, September 10 - 16, is the local kick-off of the Sears Good Life Alliance, a strategic partnership of America's Promise -- The Alliance for Youth, the Points of Light Foundation and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Sears Good Life Alliance set a goal of one million volunteer hours over the next three years, engaging the entire Sears family -- Sears associates, their families, retirees, vendors and even customers -- to support their local youth and communities.

"We're thrilled that the Sears Good Life Alliance is off to such a great start with Sears Volunteer Week," said Mary Conway, president, Sears full line stores. "Sears associates throughout the country have rallied to identify important projects that address needs in their communities."

  A sampling of the Sears Volunteer Week projects include:

  -- St. Louis - Children will be mentored at a local crisis nursery.

  -- Albany, New York - Access ramps will be built in the homes of disabled
     people.

  -- Dallas/Fort Worth - A Habitat for Humanity home will be constructed and
     homes of low-income residents damaged during a tornado will be painted.

  -- Phoenix - Lakeview School will be painted inside and out and cleaned in
     preparation for the new school year.

  -- Chicago - Rooms in the Chicago chapter of Gilda's Club will be painted;
     a building at Cabrini Green will be cleaned; and children will be read
     to in Daley Plaza as a part of Kidstock.

The Sears Good Life Alliance, a strategic initiative to build volunteering and strengthen communities in support of America's youth, was announced in June by Retired General Colin L. Powell, chairman of America's Promise, during the National Community Service Conference in Orlando.

To implement local projects, the Sears family will join forces with its local Points of Light Foundation Volunteer Center or an America's Promise Community of Promise. The Points of Light Foundation works through their national network of 450 Volunteer Centers that connect Sears stores and interested individuals with local volunteer opportunities through a toll-free phone line 1-800-VOLUNTEER. The Sears Good Life Alliance also expands the scope of America's Promise. Thanks to Sears funding, America's Promise will establish 48 new Communities of Promise during the next five years.

"The Sears Good Life Alliance brings unprecedented resources together in support of America's youth," said General Powell. "With Sears physical presence in thousands of communities and its millions of associates and customers, the Sears Good Life Alliance takes a leadership role in helping the communities it serves."

"A major barrier that keeps people from volunteering is that they often don't know how to get involved," said Robert K. Goodwin, president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation. "By sponsoring and aggressively promoting 1- 800-VOLUNTEER, and other resources for our network, the Sears Good Life Alliance overcomes this barrier and makes it easy for everyone to connect with the Volunteer Center in his or her community and to find local volunteer opportunities."

Led by General Powell, America's Promise is an alliance of 500 organizations and more than 500 communities across America. Its mission is to mobilize people from every part of American life to build the character and competence of the nation's youth.

The Points of Light Foundation engages more people in volunteering to help solve the range of social issues facing our country. The Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network is considered the leadership and resource system for volunteering.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading U.S. retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and services, with annual revenue of nearly $40 billion. The company serves families throughout the country through approximately 860 department stores, more than 2,100 specialized retail locations, and a variety of online offerings accessible through the company's Web site, http://www.sears.com/ .

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Contact: Jennifer Wennig, 773-425-0040, or Lee Antonio, 847-286-5569,
both for Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Website: http://www.sears.com/