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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kmart, the all-time leading ^®®Ìýfundraising partner, has kicked off its 2014 fundraising campaign, continuing a holiday giving tradition that last year resulted in donations totaling $21.9 million– the single largest corporate partner contribution ever to the hospital.

"Kmart associates, Shop Your Way members and customers show us every year that the holiday season is more than being thankful for the health of our families – it's about helping those who aren't as fortunate," said Tim Austin, senior vice president of retail services at Kmart. "When it comes to helping the kids and families of St. Jude, we're happy to start the holiday season a little early, especially given that September is ."

Shop Your Way members and Kmart shoppers can donate to help the children and families of St. Jude through a $1, $5 or $10 add-on program at check-out in all Kmart stores, or online via . As a special thank you to Shop Your Way members, Kmart is rewarding members who give back – through Dec. 27, members will receive a coupon for five percent back in points on their next qualifying in-store or online merchandise purchase.*

"This is Kmart's ninth year as a partner in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, and I am so thrilled that they remain such a loyal part of our St. Jude family," said Marlo Thomas, national outreach director for St. Jude. "Their dedication to the campaign helps us stay true to my father's promise that no family pays St. Jude for anything. And their caring and generous spirit has an enormous impact on the lives of countless children and their families in communities across the country and around the world."

Kmart also brought back its exclusive collectible St. Jude bear ornament, available now online at kmart.com and in stores beginning Oct. 22. The 2014 edition of this collectible ornament comes in two versions – a boy and a girl bear, and Kmart will donate $1 to St. Jude for each ornament purchased now through Dec. 24, with a minimum donation of $50,000.

St. Jude recognized Kmart, a partner since 2006, as its Corporate Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and last year honored Kmart with the "Extraordinary Partner Performance Award," recognizing its record-breaking fundraising achievement. Funds raised support research and treatment in the ongoing battle by St. Jude to end childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Kmart has raised more than $59.2 million through in-store and online donations. Those donations are enough to:

• Fully operate St. Jude for a month; or
• Provide more than 114,700 hours of physical therapy; or
• Provide more than 5.9 million meals for St. Jude patients

St. Jude is the nation's leading pediatric research and treatment center devoted to children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases and the only hospital that covers all of the costs for treatment, travel, food and lodging for each patient and a family member. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened 52 years ago. With the continued support of partners like Kmart and its loyal members and customers, St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade and won't stop until no child dies from cancer.

To make a donation and for more information, visit or .

*Points expire 90 days after receipt. Maximum $20 in points (20,000 points) per transaction, subject to full Shop Your Way program terms. See coupon for full details.

About Kmart
Kmart, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ÌýSHLD), is a mass merchandising company and part of Shop Your Way, a social shopping experience where members have the ability to earn points and receive benefits across a wide variety of physical and digital formats through . Kmart offers customers quality products through a portfolio of exclusive brands that include Sofia byÌýSofia Vergara,ÌýJaclyn Smith,ÌýJoe Boxer, Route 66 and Smart Sense. For more information visit the company's website atÌýÌý| Sears Holdings Corporation website atÌýÌý| Facebook:Ìý.

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital^{®ÌýÌýÌýÌý}
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting or following St. Jude on and .

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SOURCE Kmart