ATLANTA, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com will use the power of its site, which attracts about 15 million unique monthly visitors, to help raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Beginning November 16, visitors to AutoTrader.com will see display ads throughout the site illustrating the research and treatment hospital in Memphis, Tenn., with a "Donate Now" button. Also, individuals who purchase an advertisement to sell a vehicle on AutoTrader.com will have the opportunity to donate to St. Jude as they purchase the ad.

"AutoTrader.com has partnered with St. Jude in numerous ways since 2002," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. "All of us really believe strongly in the mission of St. Jude and wanted to take our involvement and support of this terrific organization to the next level."

Since 2002, AutoTrader.com has supported St. Jude through a variety of channels and initiatives, including:

• AutoTrader.com has hosted more than 200 golf tournaments across the country benefiting St. Jude. These tournaments have raised more than $1 million for the research hospital.
• AutoTrader.com employees volunteer about 4,000 hours per year on St. Jude fundraising projects, including staging and hosting charity golf tournaments, working directly with the hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and participating in St. Jude "Give thanks" Walks.
• St. Jude has been a charity of choice for the AutoTrader.com employee giving campaign for the past four years.
• In 2009, for each dealer survey an AutoTrader.com dealer customer completes, AutoTrader.com donated $1 to St. Jude. This program resulted in approximately $4,000 donated to St. Jude.
   

This new campaign will run through December 31, 2009. The advertising running throughout the AutoTrader.com site features actual St. Jude patients. On the Private Seller package page, the donation amount is $5. People making a donation with their purchase of an ad will get an additional six photos for their ad at no extra cost. For those who don't want to make a donation, they will have the opportunity to opt out and purchase an ad without the donation. Visitors to AutoTrader.com wishing to donate more can contact St. Jude directly through phone, email and web information provided on AutoTrader.com. One hundred percent of the donations will go directly to St. Jude.

"We wanted to make it as easy as possible for visitors to our site to learn more about St. Jude and help out with a donation if they so chose," said Melanie Kovach, AutoTrader.com Senior Director and General Manager of Private Seller Advertising. "And a little really does go a long way. For example, it costs $3 for a chest X-Ray, $5 for a spinal tap and $8 for a day of oxygen for a St. Jude patient. These donations will add up quickly and coupled with what AutoTrader.com donates as a company, will really make a difference for St. Jude."

"We are thrilled that AutoTrader.com is expanding their partnership to support St. Jude," said Kristine Templin, Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. "Their dedication will make a difference in the lives of so many children and their families and will enable us to carry on our mission that no child should die in the dawn of life."

About St. Jude

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is the nation's leading pediatric research and treatment center devoted solely to children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases and the only pediatric cancer research center that covers all of the costs for treatment, travel, food, and lodging for a patient and a family member. Children come to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital from across the country and around the world, and no child is ever turned away because of family's inability to pay. Since its inception, St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped push survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent to more than 80 percent overall. When St. Jude opened in 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, the survival rate is 94 percent thanks to the research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude. Research findings at St. Jude are freely shared with doctors and scientists all over the world, and the work being done at St. Jude impacts the lives of children in communities everywhere.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private owners. The site attracts about 15 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

SOURCE: AutoTrader.com

Web site: http://www.autotrader.com/