?Giving back to the community is a key element of Shaw?s corporate philosophy,? said Randy Merritt, president of Shaw Floors. ?Shaw is dedicated to helping create a better planet for our customers, associates and the communities in which we work, and that commitment led us to partner with the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway. This collaboration enables Shaw to touch the lives of families across the country through our products and to raise awareness of St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital, which is one of the world?s premier research and treatment centers for pediatric cancer and other deadly diseases. We?re honored to participate in this important program.?

Beginning in 1991 as a single home sweepstakes in Shreveport, La., the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway has grown into a national, multi-home campaign that is now one of St. Jude?s largest single-event fundraising efforts. As the program?s flooring sponsor, Shaw will donate flooring to 29 new homes, which will be constructed by St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway builder partners across the country. Each builder will be able to select beautiful, sustainable and durable flooring for their project from Shaw?s six product categories, which include carpet, hardwood, laminate, tile & stone, resilient and area rugs.

Once completed, the homes, which range in value from $300,000 to $700,000, will be open to the public for tours and given away through the sale of $100 tickets. The average Dream Home raises more than $800,000 for St. Jude, and in total the program attracts an estimated 275,000 visitors annually. Each local Dream Home Giveaway winner will be announced during a market-specific television special that provides viewers with an inside-look at the home and includes interviews with the builder, sub-contractors and sponsors.

?The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway program is about building hope from the ground up for the families of children that suffer from childhood cancer and other deadly diseases,? said Kathy Young, director of marketing for Shaw Floors. ?We chose to move forward with this partnership because it provides a special opportunity for our flooring products to truly make a difference. We?re excited to engage with St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital on both a national and local level and to work one-on-one with the builders and retailers in each local market to provide ?dream? flooring for these Dream Homes.?

?We?re thrilled that Shaw is joining St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital in its mission to find cures and save children by becoming the national flooring sponsor of the 2012 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway,? said Alan Johnson, director of the Dream Home Giveaway program. ?Because we want families to focus all of their energy on getting their child well, patients never pay for anything at St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital, and this benefit would not be possible without the help of donors and sponsors like Shaw. Their enthusiasm for the program illustrates Shaw?s commitment to St. Jude and our lifesaving mission, and we?re very thankful for their support.?

St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital is one of the top children?s hospitals in the United States, and approximately 7,800 active patients visit the facility each year to receive care. It costs $1.7 million a day to operate St. Jude, and 75 percent of all operating costs are covered by public donations.

For more information about the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway program, visit www.dreamhome.org, and for more information about Shaw Floors, visit www.shawfloors.com.

About St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital

Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated here, thousands more have been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries. The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life. Join that mission by visiting stjude.org or following us on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.

About Shaw

Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., is the world?s largest carpet manufacturer and a leading floorcovering provider with more than $4 billion in annual sales and approximately 25,000 associates worldwide. Headquartered in Dalton, Ga., the company manufactures and distributes carpeting, rugs, hardwood, laminate, resilient and tile & stone for residential and commercial applications worldwide. A recognized leader in environmental stewardship, Shaw has implemented hundreds of sustainability initiatives and Cradle to Cradle design solutions, collectively termed the Shaw Green Edge. For more information, visit www.shawfloors.com.