Bringing Thank You Back - National Thank You Day Celebrates Everyday Acts of Kindness

July 20, 2007

CHICAGO, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The first annual National Thank You Day launches with a contest to search for one small deed that deserves one big thank you.

Sponsored by merci® Finest Assortment of European Chocolates in collaboration with the Post Institute, the National Thank You Day Contest hopes to encourage people to remember and recognize the everyday acts of kindness shown to us by asking people to nominate someone whose good deed has gone a long way to help or inspire them.

One grand prize winner will be awarded a thank you prize personally selected by his or her nominator with a value up to $20,000. Peggy Post, etiquette expert and best-selling author for the Post Institute and spokesperson for National Thank You Day, will present the grand prize winner with his or her thank you in person on National Thank You Day, Monday, September 24, 2007.

" The simple words, thank you, have the power to make our world a more civil place, " says Post. " When you express appreciation, you can't help but notice its positive impact. These words, when sincerely expressed in any form, can bring happiness, change attitudes and influence people. "

To enter someone in the contest, nominators are asked to submit an essay up to 150 words about who they would like to nominate and why, and to create the ultimate thank you gift valued up to $20,000. The grand prize winner will be selected by Peggy Post, among other judges.

One-hundred first prize winners will receive an autographed copy of Post's latest book, Excuse Me But I Was Next ... The Top 100 Manners Dilemmas and a box of merci Finest Assortment of European Chocolates. All nominators who submit an eligible entry will receive two boxes of merci -- one to enjoy and one to pass on to the person they would like to thank.

Details and entry forms are available at

http://www.nationalthankyouday.com/; the contest runs through August 24, 2007.

National Thank You Day, to be held annually on the last Monday of September, was inspired by the findings of a recent survey* conducted by merci and The Post Institute that found that while 87.3 percent of Americans said they are bothered when people don't say thank you, 90.2 percent feel that they don't say thank you enough. The survey also found that saying please, thank you and you are welcome are the most important common good manners Americans need to observe more, followed by practicing patience and politeness while waiting in lines.

*Impulse Research Corporation conducted the Thank You Survey in June 2007 for merci Finest Assortment of European Chocolates in collaboration with the Post Institute through an online survey of a random sample of 1,088 men and women, ages 35 to 54 with an overall sampling error rate of +/- 3 percent. merci

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,142047.shtml

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