ESA Foundation and ThanksUSA Partner to Aid Military Families

Treasure Hunt Serves to Generate Donations to Annual Scholarship Fund

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The ESA Foundation and ThanksUSA will unveil Treasure Hunt Five, a free online and fully interactive trivia and puzzle game about American history, culture and values, on Thanksgiving morning, the organizations announced today. The Treasure Hunt series, now in its fifth year, serves to generate attention and donations to ThanksUSA's annual scholarship fund to benefit the children and spouses of active-duty military personnel.

The ESA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), will sponsor Treasure Hunt Five as part of a three-year partnership with ThanksUSA that began in 2008 and aims to increase the number of scholarships available to military families.

"Through this partnership, we're able to express our gratitude to the families of America's servicemen and women for their courageous sacrifices," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA. "We look forward to continuing to work with ThanksUSA to provide military families with the necessary resources to pursue their dreams of higher education."

Treasure Hunt Five features more than 150 questions on a variety of states, along with the history of the U.S. Army and a new chapter on the Earth's resources in honor of Earth Day's 40th anniversary in 2010. Treasure Hunt Five will officially launch on November 26, 2009, Thanksgiving morning. Once the game ends on August 15, 2010, ThanksUSA will award prizes, including laptops and gift certificates, to the winner of each game "chapter." Contestants may access the game at www.ThanksUSA.org.

"We are delighted to have the video game industry's continued support in this important endeavor," said ThanksUSA Executive Director Michele Stork. ThanksUSA has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships to more than 1,850 families across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a goal of crossing the 2,000 scholarship mark this year. "With ESAF's help, this year we will award more than 200 scholarships to the families of America's armed forces."

About ThanksUSA

Founded in the fall of 2005, ThanksUSA, a non-partisan 501(c) (3) organization, is an effort to thank the men and women of our armed forces and their families for their service to the country with the gift of education. The organization provides need-based, post-secondary education opportunities to the children and spouses of active-duty status military personnel through competitive scholarships. For more information visit www.ThanksUSA.org.

About the ESA Foundation

The ESA Foundation was created by the American interactive entertainment software industry to support and provide opportunities that can make a difference in the lives of America's youth. The Foundation is fully supported by proceeds from its limited edition charity game pack's sales and its annual fundraiser, "A Nite to Unite - for Kids," which together have raised more than $11 million in the last 10 years. For more information about the ESA Foundation, please visit www.theESA.com/foundation.

SOURCE ThanksUSA

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ThanksUSA.org