CLEVELAND, Nov. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gratitude is never more top-of-mind than during the holiday season, but are we actually expressing it? According to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Poll for American Greetings, over nine in ten Americans say that the holidays are a time to thank friends and family, but 60 percent admit that on Thanksgiving they'd rather do something else than reflect on what they're thankful for.* While an attitude of gratitude is often difficult to muster up amid the holiday stress and negative newsfeeds, ThankList from American Greetings remedies that by providing a quick and easy, but very impactful, way to connect with the important people in your life as you share thankfulness.
Launched in March with a series of short videos directed by two-time Oscar™-winning documentarian Barbara Kopple, ThankList is a cultural movement that combines the convenience and reach of social media with the straightforward but powerful simplicity of saying "Thank you." To create your own, just share the names of the people for whom you're thankful on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook (and don't forget to add the hashtag #ThankList). Much like a bucket list of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime, a ThankList is a list of people you want to thank to feel alive. While 71 percent of Americans say something causes them stress during the holidays, creating your own ThankList can contribute to a happier holiday season.
"Gratitude is both product and producer of love," said Dr. Giacomo Bono, author of 'Making Grateful Kids: The Science of Building Character' and Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State University Dominguez Hills. "Expressing gratitude is consistently related to increases in life satisfaction, happiness, meaning in life, positive attitudes and much more. In an increasingly busy world, it's empowering to take a moment to write down who matters and what matters; it helps focus on priorities and reminds us to make the most out of every day."
American Greetings is putting gratitude front-and-center this upcoming holiday season with a special donation to longtime community partner, United Way. Between November 1 and November 30, the Company will donate $1 to United Way Worldwide for each #ThankList shared on social media (for a maximum donation of $30,000). As we look forward to sharing a Thanksgiving meal with loved ones, it's fitting that the funds donated during this campaign will be allocated for hunger prevention. The American Greetings purpose of making the world a more thoughtful and caring place perfectly complements the United Way mission to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.
To learn more about the ThankList movement encouraging gratitude, visit Thanklist.com. For more information on American Greetings, visit www.americangreetings.com. You can also follow American Greetings on Twitter, Facebook, American Greetings blog, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram.
About American Greetings Corporation
As a leader in meaningful connections, American Greetings Corporation is a creator and manufacturer of innovative social expression products that assist consumers in making the world a more thoughtful and caring place. Founded in 1906, the Company's major greeting card lines are American Greetings, Carlton Cards, Gibson, Recycled Paper Greetings and Papyrus, and other paper product offerings include DesignWare party goods and American Greetings and Plus Mark gift-wrap and boxed cards. American Greetings also has one of the largest collections of greetings on the Web, including greeting cards available at Cardstore.com and electronic greeting cards available at AmericanGreetings.com. In addition to its product lines, American Greetings also creates and licenses popular character brands through the AG Entertainment group. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual revenue of approximately $2 billion, and its products can be found in retail outlets worldwide. For more information on the Company, visit www.corporate.americangreetings.com.
*This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of American Greetings from October 22-26, 2015 among 2,052 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact ctrainor@mullenlowe.com.