ASICS America Continues Supporting Cancer Research Through Its 2014 Accelerate Hope™ Collection

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ASICS America is proud to announce its third year of cancer awareness product collections with the ASICS Accelerate Hope™ initiative. Based on the results of two consecutive years of successful cancer cause campaigns, ASICS has amplified the Accelerate Hope™ program to include more ASICS products in bold designs and larger committed donation amounts to three of the leading cancer-fighting organizations in the country: Cookies for Kids' Cancer, Right Action for Women, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. For the months of September, October and November, ASICS will launch these specialty collections with a pledge to donate a portion of sales to each affiliated charity.

"ASICS Accelerate Hope™ is one of our favorite product collections and collaborations, thanks to the huge response and amazing inspiration we receive from these esteemed organizations," commented ASICS America Senior Director of Marketing, Shannon Scott. "Through this three month comprehensive program, we can help men, women and children on a national scale by using ASICS products to continue to promote cancer awareness and contribute funds to cancer research."

ASICS will support the following causes and organizations:

•   September Childhood Cancer Awareness with Cookies for Kids' Cancer: Committed to raising funds for research to develop new, improved treatments for pediatric cancer, the #1 disease killer of children in the United States, Cookies for Kids' Cancer raises funds through community events across the country. To show support for the cause, ASICS is launching its second annual product collection for men, women and children during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September 2014.

•   October Breast Cancer Awareness with Christina Applegate's Right Action for Women (RAW): ASICS will join forces with RAW for a third year to help provide assistance to women who are at increased risk of breast cancer.  Expanding on the popularity of last year's RAW collaboration, ASICS will launch new additions to its limited edition pink collection in October 2014.

•   November Prostate Cancer Awareness with the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF): Utilizing unique strategies for identifying and investing in the most innovative and results-driven research programs, the PCF has generated life-saving results in the fight against prostate cancer. In the past four years, research supported by the Foundation has helped deliver six new FDA-approved medicines for patients with advanced disease. ASICS will support the cause with a bold, bright blue product collection in November 2014.

Each ASICS charity collection will include customized footwear, apparel and accessories featured in colors representing each cause.  The September collection will feature a bold yellow with multi-color accents, the October collection will feature an eye-catching pink with pink ribbon embroidery, and the November collection will showcase an electric blue color.

For more information on ASICS America and the 2014 Accelerate Hope™ collections, please visit http://www.asicsamerica.com. Be sure to follow @asicsamerica on Twitter for additional information this fall.

About ASICS
Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, meaning "A Sound Mind in a Sound Body," is an old Latin phrase from which ASICS is derived and the fundamental platform on which the brand still stands. The company was founded more than 60 years ago by Kihachiro Onitsuka and is now a leading designer and manufacturer of performance athletic shoes, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.asics.com.  

About Cookies for Kids' Cancer
Cookies for Kids' Cancer was founded by parents inspired by their son's fight against cancer. Today pediatric cancer remains the number one disease killer of children in the United States, due in large part to a lack of funding for research into new and improved therapies. Through the concept of local bake sales and online cookie sales, Cookies for Kids' Cancer inspires individuals, organizations, and businesses to join in the fight against pediatric cancer by raising the funds and awareness necessary to change the face of pediatric cancer and provide more families with the hope they deserve. Cookies for Kids' Cancer grants funds raised to leading pediatric cancer research facilities including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Texas Children's Cancer Center and Dana Farber Cancer Center. For more information, visit www.cookiesforkidscancer.org. Follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cookiesforkidscancer and Twitter at www.twitter.com/cookies4kids.

About Right Action for Women
Right Action for Women (RAW) was established in 2008 by award-winning actress Christina Applegate, following her own personal journey through breast cancer.  Applegate created RAW to encourage young women to understand what it means to be at an increased risk for breast cancer, and to provide assistance to access advanced breast cancer screening.  Right Action for Women is a sponsored program of New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  For more information, please visit www.rightactionforwomen.org.    

About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation is the world's leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised more than $575 million and provided funding to more than 2,000 research programs at nearly 200 cancer centers and universities in 18 countries and territories. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Its efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. More information about the PCF can be found at www.pcf.org.

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