TV Star Mark Salling Helps Kick off The Starburst® Contradictions Project

CHICAGO, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mark Salling, everyone's favorite glee club member, has teamed up with Starburst to launch The Starburst Contradictions Project. The program, in partnership with the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, celebrates those contrasts and differences that exist in all of us and make us unique. This is inspired by Starburst's inherent product contradiction – it's solid, yet juicy like a liquid.

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"Just like a bad boy with a soft side, contradictions exist in all of us and help make us who we are," said Mark Salling. "Music is my way of celebrating life's contradictions, which is why I joined The Starburst Contradictions Project."

As a partner of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, Starburst recognizes the importance of music in students' lives. Music education provides a platform for students to showcase their own contradictions by giving them the opportunity to explore another contrasting aspect of their multi-faceted lives.  To facilitate this, Starburst is giving a $250,000 donation to the Foundation, part of which will benefit long-term, instrumental music programs that provide children with equal access to music education. Five schools across the country will benefit from these programs as part of the culmination of the overall Starburst Contradictions Project this fall in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Memphis.

"Starburst is thrilled to partner with the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and Mark Salling," said Michael Watt, Wrigley's VP and General Manager US Confections. "Together through the Starburst Contradictions Project we're celebrating those contrasts that make each of us special and bringing attention to the importance of a music education that gives students a chance to explore another aspect of their multi-faceted lives."

Starburst invites everyone to get involved by sharing their own personal contradictions at http://www.facebook.com/Starburst. Starburst will include each contributor's name in its $250,000 donation to help fund music education programs—and thus celebrate contradictions through music-- in schools across the nation through the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The progress of the project will be housed on Starburst Facebook page.

"We are extremely excited to partner with Starburst for the Contradictions Project," said Paul Cothran, Executive Director of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. "With their help, we are one step closer to achieving our goal of ensuring that all children have access to the benefits of music study."

The Starburst Contradictions Project is also the presenting sponsor of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation Songwriters Music Series fundraisers. Participants at each fundraiser have the opportunity to join the Contradictions Project while seeing some of today's hottest artists and bands, including Matthew Morrison in New York on May 16, The Band Perry in Nashville on June 2, and a soon-be-announced artist on September 22 in Los Angeles. In the spirit of the project, each artist will perform a special song that is contradictory to their normal genre of music.

About The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company:

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company is a recognized leader in confections with a wide range of product offerings including gum, mints, hard and chewy candies, lollipops, and chocolate.  

The Company has operations in more than 40 countries and distributes its world-famous brands in more than 180 countries.  Three of these brands – Wrigley's Spearmint, Juicy Fruit, and Altoids – have heritages stretching back more than a century. Other well-loved brands include Doublemint, Life Savers, Skittles, Big Red, Boomer, PimPom, Winterfresh, Extra, Starburst, Freedent, Hubba Bubba, Orbit, Excel, Creme Savers, Eclipse, Airwaves, Solano, Sugus, Lockets, P.K., Cool Air and 5.  Wrigley is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and operates as a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated, based in McLean, Virginia.  Mars is a $30-billion, family-owned company that produces some of the world's leading confectionery, food and petcare products and has growing beverage and health & nutrition businesses.

About the VH1 Save The Music Foundation:

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education programs in America's public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education. To date, VH1 Save The Music has provided more than $47 million in new musical instruments to 1,750 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of over 1.6 million children.  The 2012 Ambassador Class - dedicated to raising awareness and funds to benefit The Foundation - includes:  Amber Riley, Ciara, Jewel, John Legend, John Mayer, Kristin Chenoweth, Lifehouse and Sara Bareilles.  Get involved at www.vh1savethemusic.com and follow us on twitter @vh1savethemusic.

SOURCE Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company