AutoZone Customers Raise Over $2.3 M For St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 24, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thanks to the generosity of its customers, AutoZone will present a check for more than $2.3 million to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. The funds were raised as part of the automotive retailer's participation in the hospital's annual Thanks and Giving® campaign.

Campaign funds give the gift of hope to children facing deadly diseases and afford them the opportunity to benefit from breakthrough discoveries that lead to lifesaving cures. No child is ever turned away from St. Jude because of a family's inability to pay.

AutoZone provides a lifeline for the Thanks and Giving campaign by giving customers the opportunity to donate at more than 4,400 AutoZone stores in the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

"We've heard from our customers and know that they appreciate companies that support charities," said Lisa Kranc, AutoZone's senior vice president of marketing. "Our AutoZoners also feel good about our association with St. Jude. The combination of our hard working AutoZoners and the generosity of our customers is really what makes this campaign successful."

Over the last five years, AutoZone customers have given more than $8.6 million to St. Jude's Thanks and Giving campaign. Every penny AutoZone collects goes directly to St. Jude.

During the holiday season, St. Jude celebrity friends such as actors Jennifer Aniston, Robin Williams, Morgan Freeman, basketballer Dwyane Wade, Olympic snowboarder Shaun White, comedian George Lopez and others encouraged shoppers across the country to "give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not." They joined St. Jude National Outreach Director Marlo Thomas to encourage shoppers to support St. Jude's mission to find cures and save children fighting cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

About AutoZone:

As of February 12, 2011, AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 4,425 AutoZone stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S., and 249 stores in Mexico.