vineyard vines Kicks Off #WhalesForACause With Simon & Schuster, First Book

STAMFORD, Conn. (September 27, 2018) — vineyard vines, a lifestyle apparel brand best known for its smiling pink whale logo, announced the debut of their annual Whales for a Cause campaign. In partnership with renowned publisher Simon & Schuster and First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to educational equality, the campaign will provide brand new books to kids in need. To participate, people are encouraged to put their creative spin on vineyard vines iconic whales. The whales can be collected in-store or downloaded at vineyardvines.com, colored in and then shared on social media with the hashtag #WhalesForACause through October 21. For each hashtag shared a book will be donated.

“We’re excited to be celebrating another year of Whales for a Cause and are proud to continue the work that is so important to both Shep and myself, as well as our vineyard vines family,” said Ian Murray, vineyard vines CEO & co-founder. “First Book serves so many communities with the important work that they do, and we couldn’t be happier to partner with them,” said Shep Murray, vineyard vines CEO & co-founder.

“First Book is thrilled to partner with this year’s Whales for a Cause campaign,” said Kyle Zimmer President and CEO of First Book. “We know that education offers children from low-income families a proven path out of poverty. I can’t thank our partners vineyard vines and Simon & Schuster enough for working with us to engage families across the country and providing the critical resource of new books to those needing them the most.”

Continuing the brand’s mission to serve the community, vineyard vines’ Whales for a Cause campaign annually selects a notable cause to support. This year’s campaign follows behind past partnerships with Connecticut’s Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk to help preserve the marine resource and Pajama Program, a non-profit providing new pajamas and books to children in need. To join in on the campaign and find out more, please visit https://www.vineyardvines.com/whalesforacause/whalesforacause.html and follow along @vineyardvines and #WhalesForACause.

About vineyard vines®

A company best known for its whimsical neckties and smiling pink whale logo, was founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard when brothers Shep and Ian Murray cut their ties with corporate America to start making ties that represented the Good Life. In addition to signature neckwear, vineyard vines offers a variety of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. Products are sold in over 600 specialty and department stores worldwide, through a seasonal catalog at 1.800.892.4982, online at vineyardvines.com and at over ninety freestanding stores stopping it in its course.

About Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Touchstone, Adams Media, Threshold Editions, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com

About First Book

First Book transforms the lives of children in need. Through a sustainable, market-driven model, First Book is creating equal access to quality education — making everything from brand-new, high-quality books and educational resources, to sports equipment, winter coats, snacks, and more – affordable to its member network of more than 375,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need. Since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families in more than 30 countries. First Book currently reaches an average of 5 million children every year and supports more than one in four of the estimated 1.3 million classrooms and programs serving children in need. With an additional 1,000 educators joining each week, First Book is the largest and fastest-growing network of educators in the United States exclusively serving kids in need.

Eligible educators, librarians, providers, and others serving children in need can sign up at firstbook.org/register. For more information, please visit firstbook.org or follow the latest news on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FirstBook) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/FirstBook).