Virtual 'Sticks of Hope' Send Good Wishes to Kids Fighting Cancer OAKLAND, Calif., May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It would be a sweet reward to find a cure for pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases that affect children -- and ice cream fans now have a way to help. Fans of ice cream -- whether it's in a cup, on top of a cone, or on a stick -- can visit Icecream.com to send "sticks of hope" to kids with cancer. For the first 200,000 virtual frozen pop stick messages sent from Icecream.com May 15 through Dec. 31, 2006, Nestle Ice Cream will donate 25 cents to City of Hope Cancer Center, where the money will be used for pediatric cancer research, treatment and education. Visitors to Icecream.com are invited to write some words of inspiration, a favorite joke or simply a message of hope on a virtual frozen pop stick that will be shared with kids undergoing treatment. At the end of the program, the virtual frozen pop sticks will be counted and an equivalent number of real frozen pop sticks will be used to construct a kid-friendly, whimsical sculpture that will be displayed at City of Hope to remind children that people throughout the country are wishing them well. The sculpture will be erected in spring 2007 and an image of the sculpture may be placed on select Nestle Ice Cream frozen treat packages to support and grow the program. "Nestle Ice Cream is proud to partner with City of Hope to support research and treatment programs to help kids with cancer," said Maggie Hughs, Senior Manager, Nestle Ice Cream. "We hope enabling ice cream fans across the nation to send a virtual stick of hope will encourage kids working to get well and inspire message senders to continue to support this important cause." "Thanks to the support of Nestle and the persistence and determination of City of Hope's researchers, we are providing renewed hope to the thousands of children who will be diagnosed with cancer this year," said James S. Miser, M.D., chief executive officer and chief medical officer of City of Hope. "Campaigns such as 'Sticks of Hope' ensure that City of Hope continues vital research to better understand the intricacies of cancer that will ultimately lead to its cure." Purchases of Nestle Push-Up(R) Frozen Treats, Nestle Drumsticks(R), Nestle Crunch(R), Nestle Superman(TM) Sticks, Nestle Mystery Pops(TM) or any Nestle Ice Cream frozen snacks, will help support the company's contribution to cancer research. ABOUT CITY OF HOPE City of Hope is one of the world's leading research and treatment centers for cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's best medical centers for cancer treatment, City of Hope is a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest designation bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics. City of Hope's scientific knowledge is shared with medical centers locally and globally, helping patients battling life-threatening diseases. For more information, visit http://www.cityofhope.org/. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc., and its subsidiaries manufacture and distribute a full spectrum of ice cream and frozen dessert products. Brands of frozen dessert products currently manufactured or distributed by Dreyer's in the United States include Grand, Slow Churned(R), Dibs(R), Haagen-Dazs(R), Nestle(R) Drumstick(R), Nestle Crunch(R), Nestle(R) Butterfinger(R), Nestle(R) Toll House(R), Nestle(R) Carnation(R), Nestle(R) Push-Up(R), Frosty Paws(R), Fruit Bars, Starbucks(R) and The Skinny Cow(R). The company's premium products are marketed under the Dreyer's brand name throughout the Western states and Texas, and under the Edy's(R) brand name throughout the remainder of the United States. Internationally, the Dreyer's brand extends to select markets in the Far East and the Edy's brand extends to the Caribbean and South America. For more information on the company, please visit http://www.dreyersinc.com/. NOTE: The Starbucks trademark is owned by Starbucks U.S. Brands, LLC and is licensed to the Starbucks Ice Cream Partnership, a joint venture partnership between Dreyer's and Starbucks Holding Company. In the U.S. the Haagen-Dazs trademark is sub-licensed to Dreyer's by Nestle. All other trademarks are owned by Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. DATASOURCE: Nestle Ice Cream CONTACT: Kim Goeller-Johnson of Nestle Ice Cream, +1-510-601-4211, or ; or Brittany Hastings of City of Hope, +1-805-265-6331, or Web site: http://www.cityofhope.org/ Web site: http://www.dreyersinc.com/

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