For Nike’s Eighth annual Community Involvement Day in Oregon, more than 1,500 U.S.-based Nike employees volunteered out in their communities, including 850 employees in Oregon who supported 31 different projects in Multnomah and Washington counties doing everything from helping teach bicycle safety to providing landscaping for the Oregon Zoo’s Eagle Canyon exhibit for bears.

Nike’s Community Involvement Day in Oregon, organized in partnership with Hands On Portland, involved volunteer efforts at 31 locations in Multnomah and Washington Counties, providing assistance to over 40,000 people and 600 animals. Led by Nike President of Global Operations, Gary DeStefano, each team of volunteers devoted five hours to the community organization they chose to assist for the day. In one day, employees contributed approximately 4,250 volunteer hours. In addition to the hours contributed, Nike will make cash donations totaling more than $20,000 to this year’s beneficiaries.

“Employee involvement has always been at the core of Nike’s belief in giving back,” said Gary DeStefano, Nike President of Global Operations. “Whether it involves helping kids get physically active or working to address the issue of hunger, Nike and its employees are proud to celebrate our year-round commitment to inspiring and supporting employees as they get involved in their local communities with this annual day dedicated to making a significant, positive impact.”

As in years past, Nike worked with Hands On Portland to identify the beneficiary organizations and associated projects that were selected for inclusion in this year’s event.

“Companies can talk about their support of the community, but Nike shows it with this incredible day of service,” said Andy Nelson, Executive Director of Hands On Portland. “Today Nike employees touched many lives and made a real difference across our community.”

Each non-profit organization selected for Nike’s Community Involvement Day in Oregon received the volunteer hours and a cash donation to support programs that address: youth sports and recreational/physical activity; youth and family services; resources for senior citizens and the disabled; housing and sustainable communities; hunger and homelessness; animal care; diversity groups; and refugees/immigrants.

In Oregon, employee volunteers led children in physical activities at several Portland Public Schools, sorted food at the Oregon Food Bank’s Portland and Washington County locations; provided maintenance at the Erv Lind Stadium at Normandale Park; participated in activities with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club of Hillsboro, Kids on the Block, Police Activities League of Portland and Ethos Music Center; helped with the construction of three new duplexes at Habitat for Humanity’s Lindsey Lane Project in Hillsboro; painted, cleaned and provided general maintenance to the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization’s Asian Family Center; provided landscaping and painting at the Native American Youth Association’s Family Center; and provided assistance at a variety of other community sites. (For a complete list of this year’s community service recipients in the Portland area, please see the attached page.)

At the kick-off event held this morning, seven Nike employees were recognized with Nike Employee Involvement Awards for their outstanding commitment to community service. The first-annual internal recognition was presented to employees who were nominated by their peers for their work within their surrounding community. Most of this year’s recipients contributed more than 500 hours to the community organization of their choice. Nike will donate $2,000 to each of the recipient’s chosen non-profit organizations.

This year’s award recipients are:

Individuals: Dan Blaufus – Marathon Partners in Portland, Oregon; and Chad Spjuth – CNI Cochlear Kids Camp in Denver, Colorado.

Team: Jon Feeney, David McIntosh, Jennifer Fedor and Troy Fuhrer – Habitat for Humanity.

Board Involvement: Elliott Hill – Big Brothers Big Sisters in Portland, Oregon.

This annual event, which began in Oregon, continues to expand each year with 650 Nike employees serving 17 non-profits in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Memphis and Chicago.

Nike targets to contribute three percent of the preceding fiscal year’s pre-tax profits annually. In fiscal year 2006 ended May 31, 2006, this totaled approximately $54 million in cash, grants and product to eligible charities, non-profit organizations and community business partners around the world. Employees in the U.S. donated more than 82,000 volunteer hours, and gave approximately $2 million in cash to hundreds of different non-profit organizations. Of those amounts, employees in Oregon gave individual contributions of more than $1.2 million, and donated more than 49,000 volunteer hours in support of causes they care about passionately. Nike matches each employee contribution to eligible charities dollar-for-dollar, and volunteer time at $10 an hour-twice that if the programs help increase physical activity among youth.