PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 30, 2010)-- On the heels of the biggest soccer event in the world, sportlifestyle brand PUMA® is excited to announce a new initiative that links women’s soccer with a well-deserving cause: launching this month, PUMA’s Project Pink will strive to raise awareness — and funds — in support of the fight against breast cancer. In conjunction with their partnership with Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), PUMA will outfit some of the best female players in the world in special Project Pink kits for five WPS matches. The Philadelphia Independence has joined with Puma to rally around Project Pink and will host a game on August 8th dedicated to helping raise awareness for the cause.

PUMA athlete and Philadelphia Independence goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc will be serving, along with fellow players and PUMA athletes Leslie Osborne (Boston Breakers) and Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), as a spokeswoman for the Project Pink cause. “As a woman in sports, I always support promoting an active, healthy lifestyle,” LeBlanc explained. “Plus, a number of my close friends and family have been affected by breast cancer. I’m out here doing what I love, and any chance I have to be a part of a project like this to show my passion for what I do and link with a good cause is a no-brainer.”

On August 8th against the Boston Breakers, the Philadelphia Independence will don pink jerseys and play with a pink WPS ball to honor the cause. The game, which kicks off at 8pm, will be nationally televised on Fox Soccer Channel as the WPS Match of the Week. Puma has created range of Project Pink merchandise that will be available for purchase beginning this summer and continuing through Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Profits from the sale of PUMA’s Project Pink gear will be donated to a nonprofit committed to breast cancer awareness or research; the beneficiary will be named as the result of a national online voting campaign.

Launching July 31, PUMA is hosting a forum at wps.pumafootball.com/projectpink that invites interaction with the Project Pink initiative. The site allows for the nomination of breast cancer charities with nonprofit status; supporters can then log on to vote for the winner, who will ultimately receive a donation consisting of 100% of the profits from the sale of PUMA Project Pink product. The nomination period will open on August 7; voting will begin on September 13. The crowd favorite will be announced and the donation made in late October.

In an effort to drive additional awareness to the cause, the brand will be using the Twitter hash tag #projectpink when communicating updates about Project Pink and will also encourage fans creating content to do the same. For every tweet using the hash tag from July 31 through October 18, PUMA will donate an additional $1 to the Project Pink cause, up to a maximum of $25,000. Follow PUMA on Twitter @thepumastore and use the hashtag #projectpink to support the cause. PUMA will count one tweet using the hash tag per user per day.

“Giving back is an integral part of our brand DNA at PUMA which comes to life through our Project Pink program with Women's Professional Soccer,” explained Tara McRae, senior director of marketing for PUMA North America. “Project Pink has resonated with the players, the fans, and our company. There’s a lot of personal passion driving this program forward, and we’re looking forward to finally taking it public and getting consumers involved.”For more information about Project Pink and PUMA’s partnership with WPS, visit wps.pumafootball.com, or for tickets to support Project Pink at the August 8th Independence game visit www.independencetix.com!