HOUSTON, Dec. 22, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), North America’s largest provider of funeral and cemetery services, announced that for the sixth year in a row, it is a major sponsor of the Donate Life float that will appear in the annual Rose Parade on January 1, 2016. In addition to its sponsorship, SCI will pay for seven client families of its Dignity Memorial brand funeral homes to attend the nationally televised 127th annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., so they can see the pictorial image of their loved one on the Donate Life float during the actual parade.
SCI is one of the largest sponsors of the Donate Life Rose Parade float. Since 2009, SCI has sponsored Donate Life’s annual tribute to organ, eye and tissue donors, and helped 39 client families honor a loved one selected by Donate Life for its Rose Parade float, which is covered with memorial portraits called “floragraphs,” made primarily of flowers and seeds, of people who donated their organs, eyes and tissue when they died to help others live a healthier life. This includes paying for the immediate family members of the honoree to attend the Rose Parade.
“It is a privilege for us to have the opportunity to support the good work of Donate Life, which helps so many individuals receive organs, eyes and tissue transplants, as well as honor the donors, and help client families pay tribute to their loved ones in a very meaningful way that provides emotional healing,” said Phil Jacobs, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at SCI.
“One of the core values of our company is enduring relationships. Part of that is celebrating the lives of the people we serve,” said Jacobs. “The Donate Life Rose Parade float is a great opportunity to help families during a time of loss to celebrate their loves one’s life.”
As part of the float sponsorship program, Donate Life sends the nearly finished floragraph to Dignity Memorial locations, where client families put the finishing touches on the memorial portrait of their loved one. The Dignity Memorial location then sends the finished floragraphs to California where the Donate Life team installs the memorial portrait onto the float.
About Service Corporation International
Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is North America's leading provider of deathcare products and services. At September 30, 2015, we operated 1,540 funeral service locations and 469 cemeteries (including 262 combination locations), which are geographically diversified across 45 states, 8 Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through its businesses, SCI markets the Dignity Memorial® brand which offers assurance of quality, value, caring service and exceptional customer satisfaction. For more information about Service Corporation International, please visit www.sci-corp.com. For more information about Dignity Memorial, please visit www.dignitymemorial.com. As used herein, “SCI” or the “Company” refers to Service Corporation International and all of its affiliated companies.