Tide(R) and Taye Diggs Bring Good 'Tide-ings' to New Orleans for the Holidays

CINCINNATI, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Tide(R) returned to New Orleans to bring ten families home for the holidays with a festive caroling celebration led by Taye Diggs, star of ABC's hit show "Private Practice" and original cast member of the Broadway musical "Rent." Over the past few months, Tide rebuilt ten homes for these families in one of New Orleans' most impacted areas, St. Bernard Parish, as part of its commitment to helping families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Tide reconstructed the homes in partnership with The St. Bernard Project -- a grassroots, nonprofit rebuild organization that provides direct support to families living in St. Bernard Parish.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071218/NYTU090 )

Diggs was joined in caroling by New Orleans' Vero Gospel Choir, Grammy award winning soul singer Irma Thomas, BET's "Sunday Best(TM)" winner Crystal Aikin, and St. Bernard Parish families, neighbors and friends. In the spirit of the season, the community of St. Bernard Parish gathered at one of the newly rebuilt Tide homes to admire the splendor of the holiday lights, sip hot cocoa and sing holiday classics including: "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and most appropriately "I'll be Home for Christmas." The ten families also received brand new energy-efficient, front-loading Affinity(TM) washers and dryers donated by Frigidaire(R), a Winn-Dixie gift certificate and a one year supply of Tide detergent.

"Yesterday, I spent time visiting a number of families in New Orleans. They told me that this is the first time in two years that they will be able to enjoy the holidays in their own homes. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to help Tide support such a worthwhile cause," said Diggs. "I encourage everyone to join them in doing everything possible to continue to help this city."

People across the country can also help families affected by Hurricane Katrina by purchasing a Tide Loads of Hope(TM) Vintage t-shirt, which Diggs and many of the attendees wore at the event. The tees are available for $15 at TideLoadsofHope.com, and all proceeds from the shirts will be donated to America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network -- to help families whose lives have been impacted by disasters.

"With the help of everyone who bought one of our Tide Loads of Hope tees, we were able to start rebuilding ten homes in New Orleans this summer. Throughout these past few months, we made sure that each home would be finished in time for the holidays. The holiday season is really about spending time with family and friends, and we wanted our ten Tide families to celebrate with their families and friends in their new homes," said Suzanne Watson, Tide Brand Manager. "We thank Taye Diggs for being a part of this celebration, and we hope to inspire people everywhere to continue to support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts."

Tide's commitment to the city and people of New Orleans began in 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina. Tide launched the Tide CleanStart(TM) mobile laundromat to provide free laundry services for those devastated by the hurricane. Since then, Tide has washed more than 20,000 loads of laundry for Gulf Coast families, brought back the traditional holiday lights display to historic Jackson Square and rebuilt ten homes for displaced families.

The spirit of the people of New Orleans has inspired Tide to bring "loads of hope" to other families and communities in need. Tide recently spent a month in San Diego offering free laundry services to families and firefighters affected by the wildfires. After leaving San Diego, the Tide CleanStart mobile laundromat continued on to New Orleans where it offered free wash-and-fold services to families in New Orleans East on December 15-17.

About Procter & Gamble

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), and Braun(R). The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Tide(R)

For over 60 years, Tide(R) has been caring for the clothes of American families and helping to provide the everyday miracle of clean clothing. To meet consumers' diverse laundry needs, Tide offers its superior cleaning in a variety of products including Tide Pure Essentials, Tide Simple Pleasures, Tide with Febreze Freshness, Tide Coldwater, Tide with a Touch of Downy, Tide with Bleach Alternative, Tide High Efficiency and 2X Ultra Tide Liquid. For consumers' on-the-go stain removal needs, Tide to Go helps remove fresh food and drink stains on the spot. Visit www.tide.com for helpful product information, practical tips on laundry care, special offers and promotions and more.

About Tide CleanStart(SM)

Tide's commitment to assisting Gulf Coast residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina began with Tide CleanStart(SM), a mobile laundry program that was created in 2005 to provide much needed free laundry services to families in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Tide CleanStart mobile laundry facility contains 32 high-efficiency washers and dryers and has the capacity to do nearly 1,500 loads of laundry in the five day period the truck will be in the New Orleans area. The truck can do approximately 300 wash and dry cycles a day -- equal to one year's worth of laundry for a single family.