WOONSOCKET, R.I., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS/pharmacy will be participating in the fourth year of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R) Thanks and Giving campaign, which will run nationwide in CVS/pharmacy locations through December 8. As part of this national campaign, CVS/pharmacy has joined with retail and corporate partners across the country, media and celebrities to support the life-saving mission of St. Jude to find cures for desperately ill children in communities everywhere.

The St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign gives people the opportunity to "Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not." CVS/pharmacy store associates will encourage customers to add $1 to their purchase at the register to support the life-saving research of St. Jude, the premier pediatric cancer research center.

"Because of dedicated partners like CVS/pharmacy and their associates, St. Jude is able to provide patients with all the necessities," said Marlo Thomas, actress and St. Jude National Outreach Director. "St. Jude pays for the cost of travel, food and lodging for each patient and a family member. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay."

In the first three years of the campaign, CVS/pharmacy and its customers have raised over $5 million for the hospital.

"As we look ahead to our fourth year as a participant in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, we know that our CVS/pharmacy customers and colleagues will again be tremendously engaged to help raise money for this important organization," commented Eileen Howard Dunn, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Community Relations, CVS/pharmacy. "The heart of our charitable giving programs has always been children, which is a natural extension of our company vision to strive to improve the quality of human life."

About CVS/pharmacy

CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:CVS), is America's largest retail pharmacy with more than 6,200 retail locations. CVS/pharmacy is committed to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom, as well as http://investor.cvs.com.

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded in 1962 by late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude has treated children from across the country and around the world.

    -- No child is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay.
    -- St. Jude covers all costs for treatment and is the only pediatric
       cancer research center that pays for travel, lodging and food for
       patients and a family member.
    -- Eighty-five cents of every dollar received goes directly to research
       and treatment.
    -- St. Jude has increased the survival rate of the most common form of
       childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), from 4 percent
       when the hospital opened to 94 percent today.
    -- Every breakthrough at St. Jude is freely shared with the scientific and
       medical community worldwide. That's why St. Jude is called the
       "hospital without walls."
    -- St. Jude is the epicenter for pediatric brain tumor research and has
       one of the largest sickle cell disease programs in the country.
    -- St. Jude discovered a way to lessen side effects, making radiation
       treatment more effective for virtually all cancers.
    -- St. Jude follows the progress of its patients long after they leave the
       hospital, providing related follow-up services, advice and assistance
       at no charge to the patients.

More information is available at http://www.stjude.org, where visitors can view the celebrity spots, learn about the corporate partners, buy unique merchandise designed by the patients at St. Jude and meet some of the patients.

    Contact:  Carolyn Castel
    CVS/pharmacy
    (401) 770-5717

Source: CVS/pharmacy