Community Overview
WWE has a strong philosophy to give back to the communities and children whom we touch. "WWE In Your Corner" is WWE's charitable arm that focuses on the company's anti-bullying campaign, literacy programs, civic engagement, military support and 30 year partnership with The Make-A-Wish Foundation. We do not accept unsolicited charitable requests. For questions about our programs, please email: InYourCorner@wwecorp.com, call 203-352-1000 or write to In Your Corner, 1241 E Main Street, Stamford, CT 06901.
To learn more about WWE’s recent community activities, please click here.
Be a STAR
Be a STAR (Show Tolerance And Respect) was founded by The Creative Coalition and WWE in April 2011. The mission of Be a STAR is to ensure a positive and equitable social environment for everyone regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation through grassroots efforts beginning with education and awareness. Be a STAR promotes positive methods of social interaction and encourages people to treat others as equals and with respect because everyone is a star in their own right.
Currently, Be a STAR has 58 alliance members, including National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN), GLAAD, STOMP Out Bullying, The Ad Council and the United Federation of Teachers all partnering together to take action against bullying.
As part of its mission, the alliance offers a free anti-bullying curriculum created by NEA HIN and True Educator, Inc. The teacher’s resource aide aligns with national education standards to complement existing mandated curriculums, and consists of nine lesson plans and video clips that teachers can access for free. The curriculum has been downloaded by more than 3,000 educators across the country.
Furthermore, The Alliance offers Be a STAR Chapter Toolkits to help schools and communities start their own Be a STAR chapters. The free kit includes a guide on how to start a Be a STAR chapter, suggested activities, resources, a poster and other useful tools to combat bullying. The chapter toolkit has been downloaded by more than 4,000 students across the country.
Through the Be a STAR website, over 30,000 people from all 50 US states and from 91 international countries have taken the pledge to end bullying through WWE’s Be a STAR program.
In an ongoing effort to spread the word about tolerance and respect, WWE Superstars and Divas visit two - three schools or community centers per month to speak with students about bullying issues including sharing their own personal stories. Additionally, the Be a STAR program also has many celebrities and public officials patricipated in these events and support Be a STAR and the fight against bullying including the Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, James Durbin, Micah Jesse, AnnaLynne McCord, Jordan Sparks and more.
"Be a STAR is a tremendous program which provides kids and their teachers with positive tools to prevent bullying. The Educators Resource Guide offers non-threatening, non-humiliating solutions to a problem that causes more than 150,000 young people to miss school every day. WWE and The Creative Coalition have launched an anti-bullying campaign that is substantive enough for adults and cool enough for kids." - Solomon Alexander, St. Louis Sports Commission.
Circle of Champions
WWE’s Circle of Champions grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses who desire to meet their favorite WWE Superstars and Divas. Since 1982, WWE Superstars have conducted more than 6,000 meet-and-greet sessions with sick children in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Germany, France, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, to name a few.
WWE grants hundreds of wishes a year to children around the world who have requested meets with our WWE Superstars through various wish organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Kid’s Wish Network, the Rainbow Connection, Sunshine Foundation of Canada and A Wish with Wings in North America and internationally for Dreams Come True, Rays of Sunshine the Willow Foundation and Starlight.In2012, WWE granted 129 wishes within the United States and abroad. Currently in the first quarter of 2013 WWE Superstars have granted 57 wishes and also entertained 40 wish families at WrestleMania 29.
WWE Superstar John Cena, who serves as a Make-A Wish Ambassador, received the 300th wish award in Phoenix granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. John is the only celebrity to have ever accomplished this achievement. Of the top 25 celebrity wish granters on the MAW roster, six of them are former and current WWE Superstars including The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Triple H and The Rock. In April 2013 John Cena became the face of the World Wish Day “ Wishes in Flight” campaign where he is encouraging the WWE Universe to donate miles to assist Make-A-Wish in flying kids worldwide to have their wishes granted. John Cena has made a personal donation of 4.5 million miles which he is hoping the WWE Universe will match.
Muscular Dystrophy Association
In August 2012, WWE and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) joined forces to launch MDA’s “Make A Muscle, Make a Difference” campaign at WWE’s SummerSlam kick-off party. The event raised awareness for muscle diseases and featured members of MDA’s celebrity muscle team such as WWE Superstar Triple H, Nancy O’Dell, Alison Sweeney and others.
WWE continues to help support the MDA and Sgt. Slaughter appears regularly at MDA fund-raising events in New York, Boston, Charlotte and Minneapolis when taking part as an auctioneer Sgt. Slaughter has assisted and continues to assist MDA in raising funds to send MDA kids to summer camp. In 2013, At the MDA Boston annual fund-raiser event, Sgt. Slaughter had the highest bid of the night for a WWE Auction package which raised over $14,000.00 for the Boston Chapter.
Breast Cancer Awareness
In September 2012, WWE announced a partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure featuring WWE Superstar John Cena. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cena wore co-branded, pink and black ring gear that fans were able to purchase throughout October to support Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest nonprofit funder of breast cancer research and community outreach programs. One hundred percent of WWE’s profits from the Cena merchandise were donated to Susan G. Komen. Led by Cena, the WWE Universe was able to raise $1 million for Susan G. Komen.
Literacy Initiatives
WrestleMania Reading Challenge
WWE and the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) sponsor the WrestleMania Reading Challenge to encourage teens and tweens to read more often.
The 2013 Challenge will mark the program’s eighthyear and will culminate at the national WrestleMania Reading Challenge Final the weekend of WrestleMania 29 in New Jersey. More than 2,000 branches and 50,000 young people from the U.S. and Canada will participate in this year’s challenge, including students from the Tri-State area.
In 2013, WWE teamed up with the Pearson Foundation and their We Give Books initiative to launch a new digital reading platform encouraging parents to read with their kids. This new element of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge is geared towards parents and young children ages 4 – 11. By participating online, parents and their children have a chance to read books for free and enter to win a trip to WrestleMania 29 or a school visit from a WWE Superstar or Diva.
SummerSlam Reading Jam
This global literacy program encourages young people of all ages to read a book in the summer. From July through August, kids can join the program by visiting the “In Your Corner” section of WWE.com. Those who participate are asked to email the name of their favorite author along with one of the books they will read during the summer. By joining the program, kids receive a free SummerSlam poster through mail or digital download which is available in 20 languages.
In 2012, more than 20,000 SummerSlam Reading Jam posters were distributed via mail or download to children from over 20 countries including Russia, France, Spain, Korea and China who participated in the program.
Military Outreach
WWE Superstars and Divas regularly visit military bases and hospitals, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center (prior to closing its doors in 2011) and Bethesda Naval Hospital, to bolster the morale of our troops. Since 2002, WWE has produced WWE’s Holiday “Tribute to the Troops” with WWE Superstars and Divas performing before troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States. In addition, WWE offers all U.S. military personnel free tickets to all its live events in the United States.
WWE also is a proud supporter of the National Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe Program, which assists youths in obtaining their G.E.D. or becoming educated in technical trades.WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston serves as spokesperson for the program.
In 2012, WWE announced its latest military partnership with Hire Heroes USA. Hire Heroes USA works to create job opportunities for US military veterans and their spouses through personalized employment training and corporate engagement.