For Immediate Release
Contact: Randi Brightman
(212) 645-6900 x149
randi@jerichopr.com

ON MARCH 8 DO SOMETHING THAT TRULY DEMONSTRATES YOUR DEDICATION TO HELPING OTHERS…

TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT

At the Grand Opening Celebration of Two New H&M Stores,
Shoppers Get a Chance to Give the Shirt Right Off their Back to Benefit The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness (PCH)

It’s one thing to give a person a quarter as you walk down the street, but it’s a completely different thing to take the shirt that you are wearing right off your back and give it to someone who really needs it.

At the grand opening celebrations of a new H&M store in The Cherry Hill Mall (2000 Route 38 Cherry Hill, NJ) and The Plymouth Meeting Mall (500 Germantown Park, Plymouth Meeting, PA) the old saying, “Give ‘em the shirt off your back” is being put to the test. On Friday, March 8 at Noon when the two new H&M stores officially open their doors for the first time, the first 500 shoppers in line that take off their shirt will receive a free H&M t-shirt (so they won’t go home topless), as well as 25% off the purchase of a new H&M shirt. The shirts received from shoppers at both grand opening celebrations will be laundered and donated to The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness (PCH), whose mission is to work toward the elimination of homelessness.

“All year round H&M provides people with clothing that fits their personality,” said Karen Belva, public relations manager at H&M. “As a company that is in the business of dressing people with style, we thought it was a natural fit to develop a program that would help dress people in need, as well as work together with the local communities in the Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania and Cherry Hill, New Jersey areas to benefit this worthy cause.”

Marketing its own brand of clothing with a team of 80 in-house designers, H&M receives daily deliveries of new fashion styles and sells more than 400 million garments a year. With a total of 34 U.S. stores opened since 2000, the new 19,000 square foot H&M store in The Cherry Hill Mall and the new 12,000 square foot store in The Plymouth Meeting Mall will offer fashion and quality at the best price to women, men, teens and children.

"When I became homeless over 11 years ago, I saw and experienced the harsh realities of being homeless -- it was so heart wrenching that I knew I had to do something to make a difference. Today, my greatest contribution is being a part of working toward its elimination. We welcome the support of H&M and their contributions to help individuals meet some of their basic clothing needs. Needs that none of us should ever take for granted," said Roosevelt Darby, Jr., formerly homeless, now deputy director, at The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness.

About H&M
H&M is Europe’s leading fashion retailer offering fashion and quality at the best price. Marketing their own brand of clothing for women, men, teens, and kids, H&M sells more than 400 million garments a year. H&M opened their first store in Sweden in 1947 and the first U.S. store on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 2000. Today H&M has more than 750 stores in 14 countries and over 30,000 employees all working to the same philosophy: to provide fashion and quality at the best price. To visit H&M’s web site please go to http://www.hm.com.

About The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness (PCH)
The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness (PCH) was established in late 1981 by a group of Center City Philadelphians who convened a citywide conference to examine ways to stem the tide of homelessness. PCH became a non-profit corporation in 1982. Since that time, PCH has employed a four-pronged strategy to eliminate homelessness in Philadelphia: Policy Development, Day Center Services, Street Outreach Services and Community Education. Our mission is to work toward the elimination of homelessness by encouraging the development of necessary resources in the public and private sectors including housing, income, health care and other basic life supports, and by raising and maintaining public awareness of the causes of homelessness in a way that contributes to its elimination. To visit PCH’s web site please go to http://www.pceh.org.