LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ GE) - GE announced today that it would donate a total of $200,000 to four charities during the two-hour season finale of NBCU's live competition show, 'Clash of the Choirs.'
In 'Clash of the Choirs,' NBCU tapped five musical superstars - Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton to embark on a musical challenge - to create America's "greatest" choir. One choir, Team Lachey, was voted by viewers at home as America's 'greatest choir' and won the grand prize that will benefit their hometown.
In the spirit of the holiday season, GE will give $50,000 to each of the other four competing choirs so they may give back to their hometown charities as well.
Locally, musical celebrity Kelly Rowland and her choir received $50,000 to support their local charity in Houston, Texas. Bread of Life is a non-profit organization associated with Kelly Rowland's church, St. John's United Methodist. Kelly and long-time friend, Beyonce Knowles, donated over $250,000 to augment the church's work and outreach in the community. The organization now has a transitional housing unit named in their honor, 'The Knowles-Rowland Temenos Place Apartments,' where at-risk families, the homeless, persons with HIV/AIDS, and developmentally disabled receive free temporary or long-term housing.
'In a competition that is all about making a difference in our communities, we believe it was important to extend generosity to all the charities that were represented by the various choirs,' said Mat Castaneda, general manager sales, North America for GE's Oil & Gas business. 'This was a great opportunity to make everyone a winner in this competition.'
Below are the other hometown charities that were each given $50,000:
* Michael Bolton - Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven & Yale Child Study Center Family Support Services - New Haven, CT
Team Bolton sang to support the Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven, a private, nonprofit organization that helps thousands of victims of domestic violence every year. Team Bolton also supported the Yale Child Study Center Family Support Services, a facility that delivers treatment services directly to the home of children coping with specific family problems and stresses.
* Patti LaBelle – The Abramson Cancer Center & With Our Voices - Philadelphia, PA
Team LaBelle sang to support The Abramson Cancer Center, a national leader in cancer research, patient care, and education. The monetary contribution will go towards With Our Voices, a special research and outreach program for African Americans in the Philadelphia area to improve their access and usage of cancer screenings in breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.
* Blake Shelton – Project Rebuild & Army MWR - Oklahoma City, OK
Team Shelton was singing to support Project Rebuild, an organization dedicated to giving relief to Oklahoma residents who have lost homes in recent national disasters. Team Shelton was also supporting Army MWR, a comprehensive network of support and leisure services designed to enhance the lives of soldiers and their families. Their mission is to serve the needs, interests and responsibilities of each individual in the Army community for as long as they are associated with the Army, no matter where they are.
Earlier this week on the series premiere, GE announced a $250,000 contribution to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) whose primary mission is to help build better lives for disabled veterans and their families.
