P&G GIVE HEALTH Program Enables Consumers to Help Provide Clean Drinking Water in Developing Countries

CINCINNATI, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is empowering consumers to help provide clean drinking water to people in need through the redemption of P&G GIVE HEALTH brandSAVER coupons and the use of social media tools designed to support the cause and inspire others to do the same.  

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Nearly one billion people across the globe lack access to safe drinking water, and waterborne diseases remain a leading cause of illness and death in the developing world.  Every day, more than 4,000 children die from illness and disease related to unsafe drinking water alone.  The P&G GIVE HEALTH program and the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) are fighting to combat these statistics through innovative efforts, such as coupon redemption and shareable digital tools, to help provide clean drinking water to children in need.

On Sunday, June 5, a special edition of the P&G GIVE HEALTH brandSAVER coupon booklet will be distributed in newspapers across the country, with discounts for P&G products.  For each brandSAVER coupon redeemed from this booklet, one day of clean drinking water will be donated to people in developing countries through CSDW. Since 2004, CSDW has provided more than three billion liters of clean drinking water by distributing PUR packets – an innovation created by P&G and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that use some of the same ingredients as municipal water systems to remove pollutants from contaminated water.  The P&G uncapped donation ($0.02 per coupon redeemed) will be based on the number of coupons redeemed beginning June 5.  Newspapers carrying the special edition of the GIVE HEALTH brandSAVER can be found here.

"By redeeming P&G brandSAVER coupons, consumers have helped us provide more than 42 million days of clean drinking water to people in need since 2008 – and that number continues to rise as we further our efforts to provide clean, drinkable water across the globe," said Dr. Greg Allgood, Director of the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program.  

Using Coupons for Good: Most Consumers Would Like to Support Causes

According to a recent survey*, while most women (75 percent) care and would like to support specific causes without donating a lot of money, many are unaware that consumers could help support causes and save money in the process.  Seventy percent of women would like to support causes they care about through everyday purchases, and 87 percent say they would be likely to use a coupon if it provided a donation to a cause.  

Despite these strong numbers, less than 23 percent of women have heard of or seen coupons that give back.  Similarly, only 20 percent report having ever used coupons that provide discounts on products and allow consumers to support a charity by just redeeming them.

"Coupons have taken on a greater importance in our lives than ever before, as families are forced to stretch dollars to make ends meet," said coupon expert Stephanie Nelson, known as Coupon Mom.  "While donating to a favorite charity is often the first thing to go when money is tight, using coupons that give back enables consumers to improve the lives of others, while saving money in the process.  It's a simple, easy way to make a difference." 

In order to help spread the word about the availability of coupons that can help others, visit GIVE HEALTH on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pgmygive to download a shareable tool to inspire friends and family to learn more about clean water issues and how to help.  To learn more about the issue of clean drinking water and the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program, visit www.csdw.org.  

• Survey findings are from an online Ipsos poll conducted April 14 to April 19, 2011.  For the survey, a national sample of 1,005 women, age 18+ were interviewed online.  A probability sample of these respondents, with a 100 percent response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

About P&G GIVE HEALTH

The P&G GIVE HEALTH program helps provide clean drinking water to children in need by inspiring consumers to give water through simple actions and everyday purchases.  GIVE HEALTH is part of the P&G myGIVE program, a social sustainability platform designed to inspire and enable people to use their everyday purchases to touch lives and improve life.  As part of P&G's commitment to save one life every hour in the developing world, GIVE HEALTH helps the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program toward its goal to deliver more than two billion liters of clean drinking water every year by 2020.

About P&G myGIVE

P&G myGIVE is a social sustainability platform designed to inspire and enable people to use their everyday purchases to touch lives and improve life.  myGIVE embodies P&G's deep commitment to social responsibility and is designed to touch lives and improve life through three pillars: GIVE HOPE, GIVE HEALTH and GIVE EDUCATION.  Each pillar is tied to the P&G brandSAVER, where donations from each coupon redeemed are made to a charity partner, making it simple for consumers to give back without having to spend a lot of time or money.  By enabling consumers to address critical social issues affecting our communities, myGIVE helps P&G fulfill its purpose of touching and improving lives, now and for generations to come.

About the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program

The P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) is a non-profit initiative that has provided more than three billion liters of clean drinking water to people in need since 2004.  CSDW has partnered with a diverse network of organizations to help distribute PUR packets in developing countries.  These packets, developed by P&G and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, use some of the same ingredients as municipal water systems to remove pollutants from contaminated water.  To learn more about the P&G CSDW Program, and see how the PUR packets work, please visit www.csdw.org.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world.  The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®.  The P&G community includes approximately 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide.  Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals.  Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers and citizens around the world.  Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies.  The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999.  Visit www.ipsos-na.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.

SOURCE Procter & Gamble