More Than 3,500 Runners to Travel 199-miles to Save Lives
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Providian Financial Corporation
(NYSE: PVN) will kick off the 3rd annual Providian Relay
(http://www.providianrelay.com) in the Bay Area Wine Country this weekend. As the
title sponsor, Providian is supporting an issue of critical national
importance -- the shortage of organ donors for life-saving transplants.
The Providian Relay, which spans 199 miles beginning in Calistoga and
ending on the beach in Santa Cruz, covers some of the most beautiful and
challenging terrain in California. Relay participants will come from around
the world, with many running to save a life of a friend or a family member who
is waiting for an organ transplant.
Currently, more than 78,000 Americans are on a waiting list for a
life-saving transplant. Each day, it's estimated that approximately 16 people
will die while waiting for an organ, according to the United Network for Organ
Sharing. The good news is that a single donor can save from five to seven
lives.
Given the importance of this issue, Providian has made organ donation
awareness a part of the Company's Providian Cares community giving program,
which awards millions of dollars each year to worthy organizations around the
nation, in communities where the Company's employees live and work.
Providian does more than just contribute funding to this event. Of the
278 teams signed up this year to run the Relay, nine are Providian teams.
"This event is a great opportunity for Providian to help an incredibly
worthwhile cause," said Jim Wunderman, senior vice president of Corporate
Affairs for Providian. "This is the third year in a row that we have
sponsored this race -- and so far it has been very successful in promoting
organ donation awareness. We are very pleased to support the race again this
year."
A Personal Race For Life
Runners on 12-member teams each run three relay legs, averaging five miles
per leg. They run day and night, with the light of the autumn sun and the
full moon guiding them through 36 cities and seven counties until they reach
the finish line at the beach in Santa Cruz. The transfer of a "baton" at
designated exchange points from runner to runner symbolizes the transfer of an
organ from donor to recipient.
More than 3,500 runners from all over the nation and world, including
Italy, Canada, Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, Washington, and, of course,
California, will come together for a single cause -- to join in a race to save
the lives of people waiting for an organ.
Many of the teams have a personal mission -- to run in support of a
friend, a colleague or a family member. One of the Providian teams will run
in honor of Courtney Craig, a 6 month-old girl from Arlington, Texas, who was
born with liver complications. After spending the first two months of her
life in a hospital, Courtney is on the organ donation list at Children's
Medical Center of Dallas.
Kishor Ranpuria, a 60-year-old man from San Jose, is on a 5-year waiting
list for a kidney transplant. Because of kidney failure he is required to go
on a dialysis machine three times-a-week. A team is running in the Relay in
honor of Ranpuria in hopes to reduce the time he has to wait for a kidney.
Another team will run in honor of 2 year-old Connor Cheney of Sacramento.
Cheney received a liver transplant when he was four months old, and is one of
2,500 children in the U.S. waiting for organs.
Race Dedications
Each year the Relay is dedicated to men and women and boys and girls who
either had been an organ recipient or were on a waiting list. This year's
Providian Relay is dedicated to Nicholas Green, whose parents donated his
organs in 1994 after their son was killed while on vacation in Italy, saving
the lives of seven people. The weekend of Saturday, September 29, marks the
7th anniversary of his death. The transplant recipients are all alive and
well today, thanks to "Nicholas' Gift," which is the name of a book written by
the boy's father Reg Green, who will serve as an honorary chairman of this
year's Providian Relay.
The tragic events of September 11 will also be on the minds of all of the
relay teams. Among the runners will be a team of firefighters and a team of
police officers running to donate funds to benefit the New York Fire and
Police Departments. A booth will be set-up at the finish line in Santa Cruz
to accept additional donations.
Organs 'R' Us
Pledge money and donations raised from the Providian Relay benefit Organs
'R' Us, a non-profit organization that promotes organ donation. Providian
employees and other volunteers will staff the event. Major sponsors of the
race includes KPIX Channel 5, Compaq, and Stanford Hospital.
About Providian Financial
Winner of the 2001 Rochester Institute of Technology/USA Today Quality Cup
for excellence in customer service, San Francisco-based Providian Financial
(http://www.providian.com) is a leading provider of lending and deposit products to
customers throughout the U.S., and offers credit cards and deposit products in
the U.K. and Argentina. Providian Financial has been named one of America's
Most Admired Companies in a survey by Fortune magazine, one of the nation's
top financial institutions by U.S. Banker magazine, and one of the most
technologically innovative companies in the U.S. by Information Week magazine.
The Company has more than $36 billion in assets under management and over
18 million customer accounts.
SOURCE Providian Financial Corporation
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.providian.com
CONTACT:
Diane R. Castro of Providian Financial
Corporation, +1-415-278-4614, or cell, +1-415-515-0957, or
diane_castro@providian.com; or Kathleen Irvin, cell,
+1-415-225-9474
NOTE TO EDITORS: PROVIDIAN RELAY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY TIP SHEET
|
