Bank of America Press Release:

Bank of America “Express Your Thanks” Campaign Connects Individuals to Military Service Members and Veterans

Expressions Will Generate up to $1 Million from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to Support Welcome Back Veterans and Wounded Warrior Project®

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In the Community

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 9:00 am EDT

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"With more than 250,000 service men and women leaving active duty this year alone, raising awareness of the unique challenges they face as they integrate back into the workforce is more important than ever,"

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural “Express Your Thanks” campaign, Bank of America will relaunch the program on Memorial Day with the goal of donating up to $1 million – allocated evenly between Welcome Back Veterans and Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) – to support the critical needs of military service members and veterans. Through the “Express Your Thanks” campaign, customers, bank employees and other individuals can make simple online expressions of gratitude that will each generate a $1 donation* from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support the missions of these two nonprofit organizations.

Starting today and running through Veterans Day (November 11, 2013), individuals can participate in the campaign by taking a photo, creating a video, or writing a message of support, and sharing it on www.bankofamerica.com/troopthanks. Alternatively, they can post on Twitter and tag it with #troopthanks. Expressions of thanks will be shared with military nonprofit organizations with select messages highlighted in Times Square starting in July.

“With more than 250,000 service men and women leaving active duty this year alone, raising awareness of the unique challenges they face as they integrate back into the workforce is more important than ever,” said Jeff Cathey, senior military affairs executive at Bank of America. “Through our ‘Express Your Thanks’ campaign, we’re helping foster a real connection between the public and our military in a meaningful and easy way while supporting programs like Wounded Warrior Project and Welcome Back Veterans, which help these heroes make their transition back to civilian life.”

To launch the campaign, Bank of America will partner with Charlotte Motor Speedway, Major League Baseball and MLB clubs including the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, to provide fans with the opportunity to express their thanks at stadiums now through June 9. Bank of America customers and other individuals also will have the opportunity to write their messages of support or upload images or videos at select banking centers throughout the country from May 28 through June 6.

For taking part in either of these actions, funds donated by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will support economic empowerment programs provided by WWP and will help fund Welcome Back Veterans’ national network of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Centers of Excellence created by America’s leading university hospitals.

“Efforts like ‘Express Your Thanks’ are a perfect example of how we can support the service men and women returning from the battlefield while recognizing the sacrifices they’ve made,” said Tim Brosnan, executive vice president of business for Major League Baseball, which in partnership with the Robert R. McCormick Foundation created Welcome Back Veterans in 2008. “We’re proud to be part of Bank of America’s campaign to honor service members and generate funding for programs that help veterans facing PTSD.”

Later this year, Bank of America will activate the campaign at additional key sporting events and markets including the MLB All-Star Game in New York City, the Bank of America 500 in Charlotte and with the bank’s NFL partners, including the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and Washington Redskins.

“After a very successful Express Your Thanks campaign last year with Bank of America, we’re excited that it is continuing, and that we’re a part of the campaign again in 2013,” said Adam Silva, chief development officer, WWP. “The financial support this provides and the gratitude it generates through heartfelt messages makes a significant impact in the lives of the Wounded Warriors we work with on a daily basis.”

Bank of America employee volunteer activities in support of military are ongoing and will continue during the campaign as an opportunity to extend the company’s support of military service members and their families. Last year, employee volunteers donated nearly 23,000 hours of volunteer time and expertise through activities ranging from packing care packages for military serving overseas to providing financial education to returning veterans.

Bank of America has supported active military members, veterans and their families for more than 90 years. Part of that history includes the active recruitment and hiring of service men and women. Today, nearly 6,000 military service members and veterans work for the company, which has been recognized for its efforts to support military employees on G.I. Jobs magazine’s list of top military-friendly employers and through numerous awards from the Department of Defense and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Since 2009, Bank of America has provided more than $9 million in financial support to nonprofits who serve the military. The company also offers specialized mortgage support and programs for military customers and their families, including a dedicated servicing unit. Through partnerships with nonprofit organizations, Bank of America has donated homes to service members and their families.

*For every qualified expression of thanks from May 18, 2013 to November 11, 2013, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will donate a total of $1 to Wounded Warrior Project and Welcome Back Veterans, up to a max of $1,000,000 total.

Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.

Welcome Back Veterans
Welcome Back Veterans, an initiative of Major League Baseball Charities and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, provides grants to university hospitals throughout the country that provide post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment to veterans and their families in a public/private partnership. Currently, Welcome Back Veterans is funding programs at Weill Cornell in New York City, The University of Michigan, Rush University Medical Center, Duke University, Emory University, UCLA and the Boston Red Sox’ Home Base Program at Mass General Hospital in Boston. These institutions are developing new programs and strategies to improve the quality, quantity and access to PTSD and TBI treatment for veterans, particularly those returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.