www.veryspecialchristmas.org

TO:         Special Olympics Movement Leadership

I am thrilled to announce that this holiday season we will be launching A Very Special Christmas Volume 7 to benefit Special Olympics, featuring an all-star line-up of superstar talent such as Miley Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, Sean Kingston, Colbie Caillat and the Carter Twins.  Set for release on November 23, A Very Special Christmas Volume 7 features original recordings of new and traditional Christmas songs which each artist selected especially for the album.

As we approach the holiday season, I ask that you consider A Very Special Christmas Volume 7 as gifts for your staff, co-workers, friends and family, and consider using the albums as fundraisers for your own Programs.  A Very Special Christmas is a fitting way to spread holiday cheer among those around you while showing support for the Special Olympics movement.  The artists, publishers and record labels waive their royalties on the recordings, so that all purchases toward the A Very Special Christmas collection will help us to continue to spread joy through the Christmas Record Grant Program to many more children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their communities, providing everyone opportunities for unity, acceptance, and celebration of the human spirit.

Launch Activity

We have planned a significant amount of media activity around the album launch this season, with artists appearing on major television shows, and feature stories in magazines and newspapers.  We have also built a dedicated website (www.veryspecialchristmas.org) that will have up-to-date information on the album including exclusive in-studio interviews from several of the artists.

A Very Special Gift!

The albums can be found at many major retailers, such as iTunes, Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, however we are offering a special rate to our Programs, friends and supporters who wish to purchase large quantities.  While the suggested retail price is $14.98, you may find discounted rates at the vendors above.

How Can Each of You Help?

We encourage you to help promote the album by utilizing the materials in our Promotional Toolkit containing talking points, fact sheets, print and web advertisements, email tags, materials to help you promote the album to friends and supporters, and event activation materials.  These full materials are located here:  www.specialolympics.org/avsc7_resources.aspx.

About the A Very Special Christmas Album Series

Since 1987, the A Very Special Christmas (AVSC) album series has literally changed lives through generating over $100 million in direct support for Special Olympics programs, thanks to the generosity of more than 100 top internationally acclaimed recording artists.  Born from the inspiration of model and writer Vicki Iovine and from the ingenuity of recording industry producers Jimmy Iovine, Bobby Shriver, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the AVSC series has enabled Special Olympics to spur growth in places where obstacles to implementation of our programs are highest, but where the need for programs serving people with intellectual disabilities are greatest.  Considering that Special Olympics serves only a small percentage of the estimated 190 million people in the world with intellectual disabilities, the AVSC albums have been a remarkable gift to our movement and to Special Olympics athletes worldwide.