Mercy Ships Campaign Hits Times Square

Garden Valley, Texas, March 14, 2011 – Mercy Ships, an international charity operating the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, will debut promotional spots starting this week on the CBS “Super Screen” in Times Square.

Mercy Ships will have 30 seconds of air time each hour from March 14 through April 30.

The Super Screen is located on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.  It is 26 feet wide and 20 feet tall. During the 6 weeks of airtime, the promotional spots will range from three 10-second spots to two 15-second spots to one 30-second spot.       

The airing of the promotional spots coincides with the arrival of the Africa Mercy to the Sierra Leone, one of the poorest nations in the world, for the Mercy Ships 2011 Field Service. This advertising opportunity in Times Square—combined with a complementary marketing campaign in web, print, and local events—will allow Mercy Ships to increase awareness of their organization in the United States. 

“We are very pleased to have a presence in such a recognizable and high-traffic area,” says Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens. “Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to bring state-of-the-art medical services to developing countries—we simply need to expand awareness of the needs in West Africa so more people can be helped. Times Square is a great platform to achieve that!”

Mercy Ships follows the 2000-year-old model of Jesus by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor. Their state-of-the-art hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, is equipped with six operating theaters, a 78-bed ward, a lab, a pharmacy and a CAT scanner.

A crew of 450 volunteers transforms lives by delivering world-class health care to developing nations in West Africa. Program offerings for the 2011 Field Service in Sierra Leone include reconstructive surgeries such as cleft lip and palate correction, orthopedics, plastics, and tumor removal. An eye care team offers corrective cataract procedures, and an off-ship dental clinic provides dental care.

Mercy Ships is also committed to building capacity by training local medical personnel.  In this way, medical care is available to the people of Sierra Leone even after the ship leaves port.

Mercy Ships provides all services free of charge and without regard to race, gender, or religion.
 
To learn more about Mercy Ships visit their website at www.mercyships.org.

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ABOUT MERCY SHIPS: Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class health care services, capacity building and sustainable development to those without access in the developing world.  Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at more than $834 million, impacting more than 2.9 million direct beneficiaries. Each year Mercy Ships has over 1,200 volunteers from over 40 nations.  Professionals including surgeons, dentists, nurses, health care trainers, teachers, cooks, seamen, engineers, and agriculturalists donate their time and skills to the effort.  Mercy Ships seeks to become the face of love in action, bringing hope and healing to the poor. For more information click on www.mercyships.org

Contact Information
US Public Relations
us.media@mercyships.org
903.939.7017