Kevin Bacon's SixDegrees.org and Hanes to Award Six $10,000 Grants to People Connecting for Good Award

WASHINGTON, July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kevin Bacon's SixDegrees.org - the Web site which builds on the small world phenomenon to benefit charities - and Hanes today announced they will award up to $10,000 to the causes of the six people most successful at connecting with friends and family to raise funds for their favorite charities. The announcement marks Hanes' partnership with the organization as the official T-shirt of SixDegrees.org.

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SixDegrees.org, which was created in partnership with the nonprofit, Network for Good, launched at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 to bring a social conscience to social networking. The Web site spotlights 50 celebrities' causes and allows noncelebrities to donate to or raise funds for their own favorite charities. Celebrities involved in the site include Kyra Sedgwick (Natural Resources Defense Council), Nicole Kidman (UNIFEM), Ashley Judd (YouthAIDS), Tyra Banks (TZONE Foundation), Kanye West (Kanye West Foundation), Rosie O'Donnell (Rosie's For All Kids Foundation), and Jessica Simpson (Operation Smile). The site features an auction of celebrity-signed items to benefit charity.

"We started with a group of my celebrity friends in January, but the real celebrities with a cause have turned out to be people who aren't from Hollywood," said Bacon. "In our first six months, for every celebrity involved, we've had 100 noncelebrities join, and this community has raised nearly $700,000 for thousands of charities with their badges. It goes to show that when we connect with others, our degrees of separation become smaller, and the world becomes a whole lot better."

Visitors to SixDegrees.org are encouraged to create charity badges, which are fundraising widgets that people can design themselves to raise money for any of more than 1.5 million charities and place anywhere online - including blogs, Web sites and social networks. The six people who receive the most number of donations from different people through their badge from July 19 to Sept. 16 will receive up to $10,000 in matching funds for their charity, and anyone who receives at least six donations through their badge will receive the official SixDegrees.org T-shirt from Hanes.

Hanes first connected with SixDegrees.org's founder, Kevin Bacon, in 2006 when he appeared in the company's popular "Look Who" advertising campaign. To further support Bacon's charitable efforts, Hanes has created a limited- edition SixDegrees.org T-shirt, designed to encourage consumers to make their own connections and join in the effort to help people support the charities they care about. The official SixDegrees.org T-shirt from Hanes is made from ultrasoft, ring-spun cotton and is available for purchase for $20 at http://www.hanes.com/ and SixDegrees.org beginning July 19.

"Hanes is thrilled to be working with Kevin again and commends him for using his celebrity status toward the good of others," said Sidney Falken, vice president, Hanes brand. "We are proud to connect Hanes with Six Degrees, and by doing so, join in the effort of connecting all people, including our consumers, to support causes close to their hearts."

SixDegrees.org reflects several shifts in philanthropy. Online giving is growing exponentially, with nearly $7 billion donated via the Internet in 2006. People are increasingly interested in using the Web as a platform for personal expression, including discussing their favorite causes and encouraging friends and family to support them. By making it easier to do that anywhere online, SixDegrees.org seeks to benefit all charities.

The game, 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,' made the rounds of college campuses over the past decade and lived on to be a shorthand term for the small world phenomenon. "At first I was mortified by the game, but I realized when you take me out of the equation, the idea of Six Degrees is powerful. That's why I started the site," said Bacon.

This is the second time SixDegrees.org is offering matching grants. The winners of a first competition earlier this year included Ali Edwards, an Oregon mother of an autistic boy who inspired 2,455 people to contribute nearly $60,000 for Autism Speaks. The stories of all the winners are at http://www.sixdegrees.org/Winners.aspx.

Network for Good (http://www.networkforgood.org/) is the Internet's leading charitable resource, an easy-to-use, secure website that includes detailed listings of more than one million U.S. charities and a searchable database of more than 40,000 volunteer opportunities. Network for Good has raised more than $135 million online for more than 25,000 charities since it was founded in 2001 by AOL, Cisco Systems and Yahoo! Network for Good is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

About Hanes

Hanes is a leading brand of intimate apparel, underwear, sleepwear, socks, shoes and casual apparel. Hanes is a flagship brand of Hanesbrands Inc. Hanes products can be found at leading retailers nationwide and online direct to consumers at http://www.hanes.com/.

About Hanesbrands Inc.

Hanesbrands Inc. is a leading marketer of innerwear, outerwear and hosiery apparel under strong consumer brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, barely there and Wonderbra. The company designs, manufactures, sources and sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men's underwear, children's underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear. Hanesbrands has approximately 50,000 employees in 24 countries. More information about Hanesbrands Inc. may be found on the Internet at http://www.hanesbrands.com/.

Katya Andresen Cindy Riccio VP Marketing, Network for Good Hanesbrands, Inc. katya.andresen@networkforgood.org 212-850-2333 202-577-1932 Cindy.Riccio@hanesbrands.com Jennifer Leonard Hanesbrands, Inc. 336-519-6792 Jennifer.Leonard@hanesbrands.com