Bank of America Invites Fans to ‘Give Like an All-Star’ During the 82nd MLB® Midsummer Classic in Phoenix

As the city of Phoenix prepares to host the 82^nd MLB Midsummer Classic, Bank of America, the Official Bank of Major League Baseball^®, is celebrating with the spirit of giving back and teamwork by inviting the community to "Give Like an All-Star” and join the bank in its support for local schoolchildren in need.

Through Monday, July 11, customers, employees and baseball fans, can donate school supplies at 120 Valley Bank of America banking centers and worksites. The campaign supports Back to School Clothing Drive (BTSCD), an Arizona nonprofit that Bank of America has supported for nearly a decade, and provides new school uniforms, outfits, backpacks and school supplies to Title 1 schools and students who truly need assistance. Each participating Bank of America banking center will house a large baseball-themed donation box for the collection of needed supplies. Consumers are invited to donate items such as child-safe plastic or metal scissors, 24-count boxes of crayons, No. 2 pencils, colored pencils, 12-inch wood or plastic rulers, glue sticks, single-subject, spiral-bound notebooks, pencil sharpeners and rubber erasers.

As an added incentive for MLB All-Star Summer heroes, Bank of America will donate $5,000 to Back to School Clothing Drive for every recorded double play in the July 12 MLB All-Star Game, up to a maximum contribution of $25,000. This donation will be combined with a $25,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, for a $50,000 total maximum contribution to Back to School Clothing Drive.

"The Midsummer Classic is a positive celebration of baseball, and truly a unique event for the entire community to give back like an All-Star,” said Karl Gentles, executive director, Back to School Clothing Drive. "Through Bank of America’s support, students will be able to start the school year with new school outfits, uniforms, and a backpack full of new supplies, which gives kids a boost of self-esteem and facilitates a positive learning experience right from the start.”

As part of its campaign, Bank of America has enlisted some of the game’s most celebrated athletes to join 300 bank employees during MLB All-Star Summer in delivering more than 1,000 volunteer hours to help collect, package and distribute back–to-school clothing and supplies to more than 10,000 children from 140 area schools. These include: 2010 MLB All-Star Chris Young; five-time MLB All-Star Luis Gonzalez, who helped to bring Arizona its first World Series win in 2001; and Jennie Finch, who led the University of Arizona to the national championship in 2001 and Team USA to a world championship in 2004 in women's fast-pitch softball.

"Bank of America is a proud supporter of our national pastime and the opportunities it creates to make a difference in our communities,” said Benito Almanza, Bank of America Arizona president. "Together, the school supplies we collect, the funds we raise and the hours we volunteer will help to ensure that vulnerable populations supported by Back to School Clothing Drive have access to the basic services that young people need to enter the school year prepared and confident.”

For nearly a decade, Bank of America has been supporting the Back to School Clothing Drive organization. In the past five years alone, Bank of America estimates that its support has collected nearly $50,000 worth of school supplies, and has donated $100,000 in direct grants from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

Bank of America will support this year’s baseball-themed Back to School Clothing Drive campaign through a mix of local radio, point of sale advertising and event marketing.

"The community rallying together to generously donate school supplies for deserving Valley children fosters the importance of education in these young lives and encourages teachers, staff, and students alike in the challenging work that they do every day,” added Pearl Chang Esau, executive director, Teach For America Phoenix.

Founded in 1967, Back to School Clothing Drive is Arizona’s largest provider of new school outfits, uniforms, backpacks and school supplies to children in need. Back to School operates on an annual budget of approximately $1 million with three employees, a 15-volunteer member board of directors and more than 2,500 volunteers. For more information, visit www.backtoschoolclothingdrive.com.

Bank of America is the Official Bank of Major League Baseball, and a proud sponsor of the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. Bank of America is also recognized as a leading financial advisor across the global sports landscape, and the bank’s Sports Finance and Advisory Team helps owners, leagues and franchises address their full range of financial needs.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,800 retail banking offices and approximately 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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