Friendly's And Easter Seals Recognized At Fourth Annual Cause Marketing Halo Awards™

(Tuesday, June 13, 2006) - Earlier today, Friendly Ice Cream Corporation and Easter Seals were honored with a Cause Marketing Halo Award, America's highest honor for companies and causes that do well by doing good. "Cones for Kids" received the Silver Cause Marketing Halo Award for Best Transactional Program at the fourth annual Cause Marketing Forum conference.

In 2005-2006 Friendly's and Easter Seals celebrated 25 years of supporting families living with disabilities with Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day promotions including ice cream cone coupons given in thanks for donations and fundraising merchandise sales. Together they raised more than $1 million and drove store traffic during the slow (for ice cream) winter season.

The Cause Marketing Halo Awards demonstrate the good that can be done when businesses and nonprofits team up," says David Hessekiel, president of Cause Marketing Forum, Inc., the program's organizer. "It's a competition in which we all win." Cause marketing is the strategy of building mutually beneficial alliances between companies and causes.

"In 1990 cause marketing spending was a bit more than $100 million – this year it is forecast to top $1.3 billion," adds Hessekiel. CMFI produces an annual conference, workshops, teleclasses and www.causemarketingforum.com, a website offering free resources to businesses and nonprofits interested in developing such programs.

"For 25 years, ‘Cones for Kids' has been a real winner for children and adults who receive disability services through Easter Seals," says John L. Cutter, CEO and President of Friendly Ice Cream Corporation. "We are very pleased that the program has also been recognized as a national Cause Marketing winner because giving back to the communities we serve is a vital part of Friendly's corporate culture."

"It's fitting that each year around Valentine's Day, ‘Cones for Kids' helps so many children and adults with disabilities. The program truly represents the heart of Friendly's, and it is the cornerstone of our two organization's 25-year-strong partnership," says James E. Williams, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Easter Seals. "After so many years of making a real impact on the lives of people living with disabilities, it's wonderful for ‘Cones for Kids' to be recognized nationally by the cause marketing community."

The Cause Marketing Forum also announced that The Home Depot and KaBOOM! each received Cause Marketing Golden Halo Awards for their leadership in this fast-growing field. Sixteen category-specific awards were given to 2005 campaigns. The winners include:

Best Environmental/Wildlife Campaign:
Gold: "Iams Home For the Holidays", Iams Pet Food & Helen Woodward Animal Center
Silver: "AT&T's My SBC eBill Paperless Program", AT&T & National Arbor Day Foundation

Best Health Campaign:
Gold: "Cook for the Cure", KitchenAid & Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Silver: "Luna/Breast Cancer Fund Partnership", Clif Bar and the Breast Cancer Fund

Best Social Service/Education Campaign:
Gold: "Jones New York In The Classroom", Jones Apparel Group & 4 education groups
Silver: "Save Our History", The History Channel & American Assoc. for State & Local History

Best Joint Message Promotion:
Gold: "Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery", Energizer & Intl. Assoc. of Fire Chiefs
Silver: "Save Our History", The History Channel & American Assoc. for State & Local History

Best Print Creative:
Gold: "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil", ALDO Group & YouthAIDS
Silver: "Jones New York In The Classroom", Jones Apparel Group & 4 education groups

Best Transactional Campaign:
Gold: "Music Rising", Gibson Guitar, Guitar Center and MusiCares
Silver: "Cones for Kids", Easter Seals & Friendly Ice Cream Corporation

Best Cause Marketing Event:
Gold: "Hyundai Hope on Wheels", Hyundai Motor America and CureSearch
Silver: "The World's Largest Ice Cream Social", Cold Stone Creamery & Make-A-Wish Foundation of America

Best National/Local Integration:
Gold: "Jones New York In The Classroom", Jones Apparel Group & 4 education groups
Silver: "Ford Get Tied to the Cure", Ford Motor Co. & Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is a vertically integrated restaurant company serving signature sandwiches, entrees and ice cream desserts in a friendly, family environment in over 515 company and franchised restaurants throughout the Northeast. The company also manufactures ice cream, which is distributed through more than 4,500 supermarkets and other retail locations. With a 70-year operating history, Friendly's enjoys strong brand recognition and is currently remodeling its restaurants and introducing new products to grow its customer base. Additional information on Friendly Ice Cream Corporation can be found at www.friendlys.com.

For more than 85 years, Easter Seals has been providing services that help children and adults with disabilities gain greater independence. Our primary services—medical rehabilitation, job training and employment, child care, adult day services, and camping and recreation—benefit 1.3 million individuals with disabilities and their families each year through more than 550 centers nationwide, in Puerto Rico and Australia. See great stories at www.easterseals.com.

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