The "Giving is Winning" campaign encourages athletes, officials, corporate partners, members and supporters of the Olympic Movement to donate sports and casual clothing, which are then distributed to various refugee camps around the globe. The collected items allow the implementation of sporting activities in the camps and help ease some of the burdens in refugees' lives.

The USOC has donated more than 5,000 articles of clothing, including T-shirts, polo shirts, shorts, hats and pants as well as warm-up jackets and pants.  The items are expected to be delivered to a Darfur refugee camp in Chad on July 18.  The donation of these items was made possible with the support of CAP Worldwide, a global transportation company, which has partnered with the USOC in transporting the items to Chad.

The first "Giving is Winning" campaign in 2004 garnered more than 27,000 items that were donated to refugee communities in five countries on three continents. 

"We commend the IOC and the UNHCR for their work on this important initiative," said Peter Ueberroth, USOC Chairman of the Board. "One of the guiding principles of the worldwide Olympic movement is the spirit of giving, and we are proud to have the opportunity to contribute to this worthwhile program."

"Ravaged by war and disease, deprived and marginalized, much of the world’s population can benefit from the role sport plays in building a safe, more prosperous and peaceful society," said Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC.  "Let’s open up our team to refugees across the globe and share the joy of sport."

"For refugees, sport provides a semblance of normality and structure to lives that are in disarray," said Nick Van Praag, Director of External Relations at UNHCR.  "Sport develops tolerance, cooperation, an appreciation of rules. It motivates children to attend camp schools -- this is particularly important for girls who are too often left out.  It helps children regain a childhood lost."

For more information on the "Giving is Winning" campaign please visit the IOC website at www.olympic.org/givingiswinning.

ABOUT THE USOC
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the sole entity in the United States whose mission involves training, entering and underwriting the full expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.  In addition to being the steward of the U.S. Olympic Movement, the USOC is the moving force for support of sports in the United States that are on the program of the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.

For more information, please contact the USOC Media and Public Relations Division (719/866-4529).  This release also is available on the USOC’s public web site (www.usolympicteam.com) and our media-specific web site (http://usocpressbox.org).