PERCS members can share reward points to help raise funds and boost donations for Habitat for Humanity’s Mississippi affiliates that provide families with housing opportunities

Jackson, Miss. (March 21, 2013) – Habitat for Humanity has been selected as one of nine local, community-based, non-profit programs to participate in C Spire Wireless’ PERCS with a Purpose program, which gives members of its popular rewards program an opportunity to support their favorite local charities.

“It’s no question the positive impact Habitat for Humanity has on so many communities throughout Mississippi, helping thousands of families achieve their dream of owning a home,” said Jim Richmond, vice president of Corporate Communications for C Spire Wireless. “We’re thrilled to have Habitat for Humanity as a partner of our successful PERCS with a Purpose philanthropic program. Our company and participants in our PERCS rewards program have the opportunity to help an incredibly worthy cause.”

Over the next several weeks, PERCS with a Purpose will allow PERCS reward program members to share accumulated PERCS reward points to help raise funds for all affiliates of Habitat for Humanity in Mississippi. Participants will have several weeks to designate the amount of reward points they want to share, providing much-needed assistance to the organization, which builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses alongside homeowner partner families.

“Now, more than ever, many Mississippians are in need of the ‘American Dream’ of owning a home. As the conduit for making that happen for families throughout the state, it’s essential for us to receive support from corporations, churches and individuals,” said Trey Jones of Habitat for Humanity. “C Spire’s PERCS with a Purpose program offers a creative avenue for people to put their PERCS reward points to work to help families fulfill their dreams.”

Habitat for Humanity is one of nine community-based, non-profit groups providing a variety of health and human services in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee that were selected by the C Spire Foundation. PERCS with a Purpose participants can choose one or more of the following organizations to support with their PERC points:

• Church Health Center, a Memphis, Tenn.-based program providing medical, dental and vision health services to uninsured working people and their families.
• Harden House for Girls, a Fulton, Miss.-based program that offers shelter to teenage girls who are victims of abuse, neglect, abandonment and violence.
• Mission First, a Jackson, Miss. faith-based community revitalization program that provides a variety of medical, dental, wellness, legal, educational and sports ministries in low-income neighborhoods.
• Bay Area Food Bank, a Mobile, Ala.-based program that operates a regional food bank for low-income areas in south Mississippi, south Alabama and the Florida panhandle.
• Oxford Medical Ministries, an Oxford, Miss. faith-based program that offers health care services to low-income, uninsured working adults in Lafayette and Yalobusha counties.
• Palmer Home for Children, a Columbus, Miss.-based program that provides foster care for children in a group home setting.
• Good Samaritan Health Center, a Greenville, Miss.-based program that operates a primary care clinic offering health care services to the working poor in the Mississippi Delta.
• Mississippi Children’s Home Services, a Hattiesburg, Miss.-based program that helps place neglected, dependent children not served by orphanages in adoptive homes.

A new round of community-based non-profits will be selected and introduced every few months to expand the selection of organizations in the program, Richmond said. Every non-profit that participates in the PERCS with a Purpose program will receive a minimum of $500 from the company.

“C Spire Wireless has always made charitable giving a priority and we continue to look for ways to turn our current services and programs into vehicles for giving back to the people and communities we serve,” Richmond said. “PERCS with a Purpose engages our program members and encourages them to get involved in an easy and fun way by sharing their earned PERCS reward points to help all of these programs.”

Richmond said C Spire customers and followers are passionate about supporting charitable causes and are among the most generous in the nation. Charitable donation levels in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee households all averaged above 7 percent of total annual income – the highest in the nation last year, according to a comprehensive survey and study on giving by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Programs like C Spire’s PERCS with a Purpose can help community-based non-profits with a much needed infusion of financial support from a non-traditional source, according to Joe Donovan, executive director of the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits, the state’s only nonprofit management resource center.

“Charities are hard at work every day improving the quality of life for individuals and families who live and work in communities across our region by filling much needed gaps in funding and services for critical health and human services,” Donovan said. “Our citizens already are among the most generous in the U.S. and programs like this one can give them new, creative opportunities to support their favorite charities. We commend C Spire for partnering with the non-profit community in such a creative fashion.”

C Spire kicked off its PERCS with a Purpose program in October 2012 with a successful, month-long campaign where reward program members shared nearly 600,000 reward points, resulting in a $20,000 to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative.

The PERCS program is the nation’s first consumer engagement-based loyalty program that rewards customers for personalizing their wireless experience. Users can earn PERCS reward points by simply interacting with the company and doing things like sharing their views on the company’s community social forum, being a loyal customer and engaging in activities on their way to personalizing their wireless experience. Customers also earn Status PERCS for their loyalty and tenure.

Since its inception, C Spire customers have taken full advantage of PERCS’ benefits, with nearly 345,000 members, including nearly 71,000 non-customers, earning more than 190 million PERCS reward points. To date, customers have redeemed their Status PERC points for more than 300,000 rewards.

For more information on the C Spire PERCS rewards program, go to www.cspire.com/rewards. For more information about the PERCS with a Purpose program, go to www.cspire.com/purpose.

About C Spire Wireless

C Spire Wireless is a diversified wireless communications company passionately committed to helping customers by personalizing wireless services designed just for them. The company is the first wireless provider in the U.S. to personalize customers’ experience by offering apps that fit who they are, services that anticipate their needs, and rewards for using their phone in new ways – all with seamless ease and at amazingly fast speeds. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire Wireless and its products and services, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire or Google + or www.pinterest.com/cspirewireless