American Express Unveils Top 25 Project Ideas for 'The Members Project'

NEW YORK, July 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Express today announced the top 25 project ideas selected as semi-finalists for The Members Project (http://www.membersproject.com/), the unique online initiative that brought American Express(R) Cardmembers together to submit, discuss and rate ideas to make a positive impact in the world. Thousands of Cardmembers from across the country came together to vote, narrowing the field down from the top 50 project ideas to the top 25. The top 25 project ideas range from disease research to environmental issues. Cardmembers have through Sunday, July 22 to cast their vote for the top 5 project ideas.

As the second voting phase of The Members Project begins, American Express is calling for Cardmembers to register and vote for their favorite project ideas to narrow down the list to the idea about which Cardmembers are most passionate. For every Cardmember that registers, American Express will contribute $1 toward the winning idea. American Express has committed at least $1 million and up to $5 million to bring the winning idea to life.

  TOP 25 PROJECT SUBMISSIONS*

  ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
  -- "Bring Young Audiences to Live Theater -- This program aims to bring
     young audiences to non-profit theaters through student matinees, rush
     tickets and other means of making theater accessible to those who may
     not otherwise have the opportunity to attend."
  -- "Women Artists: Not in the Books? Put them Online! -- With only 2% of
     paintings on museum walls comprised of works by female artists, this
     project proposes that we transfer the established library of existing
     female art into a universally accessible online database."

  BUSINESS & FINANCE
  -- "Microcredit to Businesses in Developing Countries -- This program aims
     to support microfinance, one of the most sustainable and effective
     tools in the fight against global poverty. Microfinance emerged in the
     1970s as a way to offer financial services to the working poor who were
     previously considered "un-bankable" due to lack of collateral."

  COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
  -- "50,000 Families up From Poverty -- The practice of microlending is
     helping to lift many families from total poverty to self-sufficiency
     and better lives. This project aims to help thousands of families."
  -- "Bringing Water to the Poorest of the Poor -- Project designed to
     provide water to communities in India, Africa and impoverished areas
     worldwide by drilling tube wells wherever needed."
  -- "Help African Children Orphaned by AIDS -- This project empowers
     communities to care for orphans living with AIDS through education and
     access to treatment. Additionally the program will provide food,
     clothing, medicine, and counseling, while developing sustainable
     solutions for each orphan family."
  -- "Permanent Homes for American Foster Children -- Statistics show that a
     staggering number of kids who 'age out' of the foster care system in
     America without being adopted often end up homeless, in prison, or on
     welfare. This program proposes the creation of a neighborhood for
     families willing to adopt kids out of the foster care system, including
     senior citizen homes whose residents would act as 'grandparents' for
     these kids."

  EDUCATION
  -- "Adopt a Classroom to Support School Children -- This project is
     designed to motivate individuals, businesses and organizations to
     contribute funds to specific school teachers nationwide to enable them
     to purchase educational materials online which will enhance teaching
     opportunities in the classroom."
  -- "Aged Out - Kicked Out help Foster Kids Futures -- With 20,000 children
     aging out of foster care in the U.S. each year, this project aims to
     create a network of mentors and programs to help children prepare for
     life after foster care through education, job training and life skills
     training."
  -- "Social Mobility for Youth in Low-Wage Jobs -- This program takes a
     comprehensive approach to ease common barriers for hardworking low-
     income youth. The youth contribute a part of their paychecks to a
     savings account, giving them access to support for employment training,
     healthcare, logistical needs, workshops on asset building and financial
     management, and planning to reach their education, career, and life
     goals."
  -- "Teachers ask.  You choose.  Students learn. -- This program aims to
     create a website where public school teachers can request specific
     educational projects for their classrooms, and individuals can log on
     to choose which projects to fund, in turn, providing educational tools
     for students from low-income families nationwide."

  ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
  -- "Harvest the Sun -- Every day we get up in the morning to the largest
     source of energy in our lives. Every roof on every building both
     residential and commercial is a potential piece of real estate for
     solar power generation. The goal of this project is to get 100% self-
     sufficiency for the average household, depending on geographic
     location."
  -- "Plant A Million Trees - Global Reforestation -- From forest fires to
     rain forest destruction to natural water disasters to overdevelopment,
     trees are disappearing in vast numbers all over the globe. This plan
     suggests planting millions of trees where they are needed most."
  -- "Restore our bee population! -- This proposal propagates a replacement
     for the honey bee.  Approximately 85% of the fruits and vegetables that
     are consumed rely on pollination."
  -- "Save Lake Winnipesaukee! (Winni-Who?) -- Lake Winnipesaukee needs
     action to ensure it will always be available for drinking and
     recreational enjoyment.  Record development has caused impairments,
     making this idea more urgent than ever. This project's vision is to
     develop and implement community strategies which effectively stop
     threats to water quality."
  -- "Wind and Solar for Residential -- This project plans to create a small
     power generating unit that is small and powerful enough to be placed
     into every residential home.  The ultimate goal of the project is to
     create a community of homes to help generate power for the power
     companies to use."

  HEALTH AND FITNESS
  -- "A Cure for Autism -- One in 150 children are diagnosed with autism.
     This project hopes to make people more aware of autism and drives to
     donate funds to an organization that has an interest in curing autism."
  -- "Alzheimer's Disease Research -- At age 85, 50% of the population will
     have Alzheimer's disease. Medicaid expenditures are threatening to
     overwhelm state budgets. Sixty percent of family caregivers die before
     the person for whom they are caring. These factors have created a
     'perfect storm' that will devastate our healthcare systems, unless a
     cure and/or prevention are found."
  -- "Children's Safe Drinking Water -- Four thousand children die
     needlessly every day from drinking contaminated water. This program
     aims to address this issue through an innovative and low-cost
     technology that effectively purifies and cleans water while removing
     bacteria, viruses, and parasites."
  -- "Cure for Alzheimer's -- The cost of caring for an Alzheimer's patient
     is expensive, and the number of people suffering from this disease
     continues to increase. This project supports the research for a cure as
     the disease afflicts more people every day."
  -- "Help Stop ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) -- This program seeks to provide
     financial assistance to the research of Lou Gehrig's Disease, or ALS
     (Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis). This fatal disease attacks the motor
     neurons of a person's central nervous system as most patients live for
     an average of 5 years after diagnosis."
  -- "Prevent Blindness in Millions of People Worldwide! -- Millions of
     people are going blind around the world because of disease or medical
     complications of the eye. For only about five or six dollars, a person
     can be treated to prevent the onset of blindness, cataracts and other
     eye maladies. This winning project could literally save the sight of a
     million people or more around the world."
  -- "Treating our Troops -- This project plans to start a nationwide system
     of rehabilitative specialists to bridge the gap in care for troops
     returning from Iraq."

  MISCELLANEOUS
  -- "Awareness Can Build a Family -- An astonishing 90% of pregnancies
     involving diagnosis of Down syndrome are terminated. This program will
     use public service television, ads, booklets and more to share that the
     lives of people with Down syndrome are just as valuable as everyone
     else."
  -- "Restore our U.S. National Parks -- The United States National Parks
     and Historic Sites are in disrepair and funding is needed to repair and
     refurbish. This project aims to provide funding to the landmarks that
     define our nation."

American Express worked with an Advisory Panel of renowned thought-leaders in a variety of fields to review the top-rated projects, as rated by the Cardmembers, and select the top 50 project ideas. Based on popular Cardmember vote, the top 50 project ideas have now been narrowed down to the top 25. Cardmembers can now again cast their vote, with the top five to be announced on July 24. The winning idea will be announced on August 7 and Cardmembers can register on http://www.membersproject.com/ through August 5.

  Advisory Panelists include:
  -- Geoff Canada -- President and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone
  -- Ellen DeGeneres -- Comedian and Talk Show Host
  -- Dr. Jane Goodall -- Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN
     Messenger of Peace
  -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and Neurosurgeon
  -- Rosabeth Moss Kanter -- Harvard Business School Professor
  -- Dr. Michael Lomax -- President and CEO, United Negro College Fund
  -- Wynton Marsalis -- Artistic Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center
  -- Gabrielle Reece -- Professional Volleyball Player and Sports/Fitness
     Expert

The Members Project, which is a part of American Express' new brand campaign, "Are You a Cardmember?(sm)", highlights the value of being part of the American Express Cardmember community.

American Express and Membership

American Express has been synonymous with "Membership" since it introduced "Member Since" dates on its Cards in 1964 and has continued to develop a sense of membership through the special benefits and exceptional services offered to Cardmembers.

American Express and Giving Back

Giving back is a core value of American Express and being a "good citizen" is a hallmark of the brand. American Express was the first company to launch a cause-related marketing campaign, which was a program benefiting the Statue of Liberty in 1983, and the Company has continued to roll out successful initiatives around the world that have supported and enhanced the communities where we live and work.

Over the years, American Express has supported causes that are important to Cardmembers, merchant partners and the general public, from reopening the Statue of Liberty after 9/11 to fighting hunger and preserving historic sites around the world. Through these programs, including The Members Project, American Express is providing an outlet for consumers' desire to "do good."

About American Express

American Express Company (http://www.americanexpress.com/) is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850.

* Cardmembers selected project categories and project descriptions are in their own words.