Cee Lo Changes His Tune, Promising Not to ‘Forget’ the
Nation’s Volunteers as Part of Battery Donation Program to Power
Volunteer Firefighters Across the U.S.

With Personal Connection to the
Cause, Grammy Award-Winning Entertainer Releases ‘Thank You,’ a Charity
Track to Support the National Volunteer Fire Council and Duracell’s
“Power Those Who Protect Us” Program

Bethel, CT (PRWE May 06, 2011

Cee Lo Green may be best-known for his break-up anthem ‘Forget You,’
which earned him a 2011 Grammy Award, but the entertainer today will
change his tune to reveal a softer, more vulnerable side with the ‘Thank
You’ charity track. Cee Lo will continue to tell his little-known
personal rescue stories through original lyrics he created in tribute to
the one million volunteer firefighters across the country. It’s his
way of partnering with Duracell and the National Volunteer Fire Council
for the Power Those Who Protect Us program, designed to donate batteries
while supporting and raising awareness for our nation’s volunteer
firefighters.

Cee Lo is closely connected with the Power Those Who Protect Us
volunteer firefighter cause. As a child growing up in Atlanta, Cee Lo’s
mother served as a volunteer firefighter. Then, when he was 16 years
old, a group of local volunteer firefighters miraculously pulled his
mother to safety following a near-fatal car accident. The new ‘Thank
You’ song will serve as an ode to the firefighters on the scene during
those two critical rescues and to the 23,000 volunteer fire departments
across the county that put their lives in danger daily to protect their
communities. The track is a free, limited-edition download, available
exclusively on Duracell’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/Duracell, while
supplies last. The song will also be accompanied by an online video
featuring first-hand accounts by Cee Lo and heroic images from volunteer
firefighters across the country.

“As entertainers in the public light, we have an unique opportunity
to raise awareness for causes close to our hearts through our greatest
passion: music,” said Green. “That’s why I am proud to join the Power
Those Who Protect Us cause, to tell my own story and shed light on the
tireless sacrifices our nation’s volunteers make each and every day to
protect their communities.”

“We are excited to encourage local communities to join in our thank
you efforts with Cee Lo, a superstar who has been profoundly impacted by
the very community we’re supporting,” said Volker Kuhn, General
Manager, North America for Duracell. “In addition to releasing our
limited-edition track and video, we’ll also be thanking volunteers by
doubling our initial contribution commitment from 10 million to up to 20
million batteries for the 23,000 volunteer fire departments in the
United States.”

In addition to downloading the song and watching the touching video,
local communities can also support the program, either by purchasing
specially-marked packs of Duracell AA and AAA batteries or by thanking
their local volunteers during one of the Power Those Who Protect Us
‘Thank You’ events. For each specially-marked battery pack purchased,
Duracell will make a donation to the nation’s volunteer firehouses.
Donations can also be localized to support specific volunteer firehouses
by logging on to Duracell.com/Protect and entering a zip code. As part
of the ‘Thank You’ event series, Duracell and the NVFC will partner
with several communities and firehouses across the country to host
fundraisers to benefit the needs of local volunteer fire units. For
more information and upcoming dates, visit Facebook.com/Duracell.

Launched in January 2011, Power Those Who Protect Us, is a joint
effort between Duracell and the NVFC to help equip the nation’s
volunteer fire force, which makes up nearly three-quarters of our
nation’s fire departments, with supplies they need to help power their
everyday tools and life-saving devices. The program was created to help
offset the out-of-pocket financial contributions many volunteers must
make in order to support their local departments (64 percent of
volunteers surveyed report that their departments are not sufficiently
funded to sustain all areas of operations ). In fact, 86 percent of
volunteer firefighters report that they or their families invest their
own money in purchasing supplies and/or equipment for their department,
with most of them (73 percent) investing up to $500 per year.

Due to the great initial response to and support for the program,
Duracell is also proud to announce today that it will be doubling its
battery donation goal to provide the volunteer community with up to 20
million batteries for the 23,000 volunteer fire departments across the
country.

For more information or to get involved in Duracell’s Power Those Who Protect Us battery donation program, visit http://www.duracell.com/protect and/or Facebook.com/duracell.