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Olive Garden's Pasta for Pennies Makes Cents for Cancer Research

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 General News
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ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 26 Students across thecountry will soon kick off Olive Garden's 15th-annual Pasta for Penniesfundraising program benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) School& Youth campaign.
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(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050217/FLTH022LOGO )

A collective effort by millions of students, parents, teachers and schooladministrators, Pasta for Pennies has raised more than $42 million since itsinception, funding research and services for leukemia, lymphoma and myelomapatients and their families. In 2008 alone, the grassroots campaign raised arecord $5.8 million in student contributions.
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Students participate in Pasta for Pennies during a three-week period inthe school year by donating their spare change, filling collection jars intheir classrooms. Local Olive Garden restaurant teams reward the topfundraising class in each school with a pasta party.

"Each penny, nickel, dime and quarter collected through Pasta for Penniesadvances our quest to find cures for blood cancers and make a meaningfuldifference in the lives of those who suffer from them," said LLS President andCEO John Walter. "Our partnership with Olive Garden has taken us far over thelast 15 years and we look forward to the impact we can make together againthis year."

Olive Garden also hosts kick-off lunches in its local restaurants forrepresentatives of schools participating in the Pasta for Pennies program andprovides marketing support and materials for 43 participating LLS chaptersnationally.

"Year after year, I am inspired by the students who make Pasta for Penniesa success," said Dave Pickens, president of Olive Garden. "They are making achoice to have a positive impact on the lives of others and are becoming rolemodels in the process."

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., isthe world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding bloodcancer research and providing education and patient services. The LLSmission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improvethe quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million for research specificallytargeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, LLS made 6.3million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionalsthrough services provided at its home office and by its 68 chapters in theUnited States and Canada. For more information about LLS, visit www.LLS.org.

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with670 restaurants, more than 80,000 employees and $3.1 billion in annual sales.Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI), the world'slargest full-service owned and operated restaurant company. For moreinformation, visit Olive Garden's Web site at www.olivegarden.com.

SOURCE Darden Restaurants Inc.
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