FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Lin
(212) 645-6900 x145
julie@jerichopr.com
TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT
to Benefit a Worthy Cause at the Grand Opening
Celebration of H&M at Manassas Mall

Manassas, VA, April 7, 2003 -- 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 celebration of the new H&M store at Manassas Mall (8300 Sudley Rd, Manassas, VA), the old saying, “Give ‘em the shirt off your back” is being put to the test. On Friday, April 18 at Noon when the new H&M store officially opens, the first 100 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 20% off the purchase of any single item at H&M on opening day.

The shirts received from shoppers at the grand opening celebration will be laundered and donated to benefit a Gifts in Kind affiliated charity in need, the Reston Interfaith Shelter. The 60-bed shelter offers temporary residence to approximately 500 individuals and families each year and teaches self-sufficiency skills aimed at preparing residents to meet long-term challenges in their lives.

“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, this program is a natural fit to help dress people in need, as well as work together with the community to benefit a local worthy cause.”

With a total of 54 U.S. stores opened since 2000 (including H&M at Manassas Mall), this new 16,000 square foot H&M store offers high quality, affordable fashion and accessories for women, teens and children. H&M Manassas store hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m-9:30 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

H&M is Europe’s leading fashion retailer offering fashion and quality at the best price. Marketing its own brand of clothing with a team of 95 in-house designers, H&M receives daily deliveries of new fashion styles and sells more than 600 million garments a year. H&M opened its first store in Sweden in 1947 and expanded with the first U.S. store on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 2000. Today, H&M has 54 U.S. stores, primarily in the Northeast region, and globally has more than 800 stores in 14 countries. H&M has more than 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.

Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org), is the world's leading charity in product philanthropy and the 7th largest charity in the United States. Its network of 350-plus affiliates provides nonprofits access to more than $700 million annually in product and service donations. Gifts In Kind International operates at less than 1 percent of the fair market value of products donated, making it one of the most cost-efficient charities in the world.