At Special Olympics and Elsewhere, "Yamaha Cares"

BUENA PARK, CA (April 19, 2004) — Even though the smoke from recent wildfires still hung thick, there was caring in the air last November when more than 2,000 athletes gathered for the Special Olympics Southern California Fall Games at Cal State Fullerton. And, as part of a new initiative to give back to the communities where its employees live and work, Yamaha was there.

More than 50 Yamaha employees, friends and family members spent the weekend of November 1 and 2 at the games, assisting with various athletic competitions, helping to distribute food and manning a Yamaha booth that gave Special Olympians a glimpse into the joy of making music.

The effort was coordinated by Yamaha Cares, an employee-based program dedicated to charitable works by Yamaha and its employees. Organized by Yamaha Vice President of Human Resources Carol Baker and Yamaha Human Resources Representative Christina Holthe, Yamaha Cares uses charitable donations, product donations and hands-on help to promote education, arts, health and human services and community development in the areas where its employees live and work.

Other recent Yamaha Cares initiatives have included working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to provide a Disklavier grand piano to "wish teen" Sarah in Cobden, IL. Yamaha Cares has also granted scholarships at Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, Cerritos College and the Cerritos Performing Arts Center.

At the Special Olympic games, lingering pollution from the recent California wildfires had forced the cancellation of many of the more strenuous athletic events, but the fun went on. At the Yamaha booth, product specialist Jason Nyberg and Piano Division Marketing Manager Dane Madsen showed athletes and their families how the Clavinova digital piano can help people learn to make their own music, and demonstrated the unique properties of the Disklavier. There were several prize drawings during the weekend, with prizes including a PSR-170 keyboard, a DD-55 drum machine, colorful translucent recorders and several "Yamaha Cares" logo radios.

"Even though the sporting events were scaled down because of the wildfires, the spirit at the games was amazing, and it's exactly that kind of feeling that led us to start Yamaha Cares," Baker said. "We look forward to increasing our charitable involvement, and we'll be back with the Special Olympics when they hold their summer games this June in Long Beach. We expect it to be much bigger, and our participation will be much greater."

Special Olympics Southern California serves over 11,000 children and adults with mental retardation in an eleven-county region of Southern California. The program offers sports training and competition in 23 individual and team sports on a year-round basis. Athletes range in age from eight to eighty. SOSC is one of 52 accredited Special Olympics entities operating in the United States. For more information about Special Olympics Southern California, please visit www.sosc.org.

For more information on Yamaha Cares, write Yamaha Corporation of America, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.