Great Wolf Resorts Starts Something Big for Big Brothers Big Sisters

MADISON, Wis., June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 25,000 participants sliding a total of 2,090 miles, Great Wolf Resorts® (NASDAQ: WOLF), North America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, started summer in a big way for Big Brothers Big Sisters by raising more than $250,000 resulting in what will be one of the largest fundraisers of the year for the organization.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110615/CG20406)

For twelve hours on Saturday, June 11, Great Wolf Lodge hosted its Second Annual World's Largest Waterslide-athon at all 11 of its resorts throughout North America. For every guest who took a trip down the designated waterslide at each resort during the event, $1 was donated by the company to Big Brothers Big Sisters. This contribution, along with numerous other fundraising activities held throughout the weekend, combined for a grand total that doubled the amount raised during last year's inaugural event. The weekend kicked off with a visit from multi-platinum recording artist, actor, television personality, and Big Brother Nick Lachey to the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH, a suburb of his Cincinnati hometown, on Friday, June 10. Lachey rallied communities nationwide to join in the fun to benefit the mentoring organization.

"I'm honored to have helped Great Wolf Lodge reach its goal of raising $250,000 for an organization that I have been so passionate about for many years," said Lachey. "Because of the money raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters this weekend, 250 kids will be matched with mentors that will help them grow and succeed in life."

Increased funding allows Big Brothers Big Sisters to carefully make more mentoring matches and provide ongoing support to the volunteers, mentees and their families to help sustain the long-term, successful relationships unique to the organization.

"The Great Wolf Lodge family – which includes our wonderful guests – never ceases to amaze me: We challenged our employees, guests and the communities where we have resorts to double the amount of money contributed last year, and the response has been overwhelming," said Kim Schaefer, CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.  "We always knew that a Waterslide-athon would be fun, but with numbers totaling a quarter of a million dollars, it's safe to say we knocked this one out of the waterpark."

In addition to all the watersliding, the total contribution to Big Brothers Big Sisters was a result of property and community-wide initiatives, including an afterhours Waterpark in the Dark open to the general public, silent auctions, and numerous event sponsorships. Guests can continue to contribute by visiting the Great Wolf Lodge Facebook page and taking a virtual slide.

"We couldn't be more grateful to have corporate and celebrity partners like Great Wolf Lodge and Nick Lachey," said Karen J. Mathis, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters. "It's the dedication and support of these groups that makes Big Brothers Big Sisters the largest donor-funded network of volunteer mentors it is today. This event is a true example of how we can really start something big if we rally together as a team."

For more information, visit www.greatwolf.com/slideathon.

About Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.® (NASDAQ: WOLF), Madison, Wis., is North America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, and, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, owns, licenses  and/or operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge® brand.  Great Wolf Resorts is a fully integrated resort company with Great Wolf Lodge locations in: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Sandusky, Ohio; Traverse City, Mich.; Kansas City, Kan.; Williamsburg, Va.; the Pocono Mountains, Pa.; Niagara Falls, Ontario; Mason, Ohio; Grapevine, Texas; Grand Mound, Wash.; and Concord, N.C.

The company's resorts are family-oriented destination facilities that generally feature 300 to 600 rooms and a large indoor entertainment area measuring 40,000 to 100,000 square feet.  The all-suite properties offer a variety of room styles, arcade/game rooms, fitness rooms, themed restaurants, spas, supervised children's activities and other amenities.  The company's consolidated subsidiary, Creative Kingdoms, LLC, is a developer and operator of technology-based, interactive quest adventure experiences such as MagiQuest®.

Additional information may be found on the company's Web site at www.greatwolf.com.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters
For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children ("Littles") with screened volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course. The organization holds itself accountable for children in the program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as higher aspirations; greater confidence and better relationships; educational success; and avoidance of delinquency and other risky behaviors. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of about 370 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 250,000 children. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

Steve Shattuck Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
Ph: 608- 662-4731, email: [email protected]

Vicki Boutwell, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.
Ph: 314-982-9127, email: [email protected]

SOURCE Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.