Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE: KSS) today announced a new partnership with TED, the nonprofit organization that provides a platform for innovative thinkers to present Ideas Worth Spreading. Kohl’s is providing a $1.25 million sponsorship to launch education-based opportunities for youth. As part of the partnership, Kohl’s will be the sole presenting sponsor of the inaugural TEDYouth event in New York on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 and will help TED launch TED-ED, a new resource on TED.com, providing free educational content for educators and students. The donation comes from the Kohl’s Cares^®cause merchandise program, which sells special merchandise, including plush toys and books, and donates 100 percent of the net profit to benefit children’s health and education initiatives nationwide.

“Kohl’s is committed to kids education and, at a time when school districts nationwide are feeling the pinch of budget cuts, we are partnering with TED to help bring free, exciting new educational opportunities and content to kids across the country,” said Julie Gardner, Kohl’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “TED presentations make learning fun and we believe the new programming created by our partnership will be compelling for kids and will help teachers who struggle to find great educational experiences with scarce resources.”

TED’s goal is to gather fascinating thinkers, industry leaders and innovators to speak at TED Conferences. These inspiring talks are captured and shared for free on TED.com. Since 2006, more than 1,000 talks have been viewed more than 500 million times.

“TED is constantly evolving and growing our mission to spread ideas across the globe that spark the imagination and ignite curiosity,” said Ronda Carnegie, Head of Global Partnerships at TED. “This investment from Kohl’s in TEDYouth and the launch of the new TED-ED initiative help make the TED platform an accessible tool to a crucial audience, educators and students.”

The new partnership between Kohl’s and TED will support the following youth-focused educational initiatives that will continue to evolve over the next year:

• TEDYouth Event: Kohl’s is the sole presenting sponsor of the inaugural TEDYouth Event in New York on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. The theme for the conference is “Play, Learn, Build and Share” which will feature presentations from artists, animal behaviorists, mathematicians, mountaineers, physicists, filmmakers and more. Approximately 300 New York City students, grades 6 – 12 were selected to participate in the event. In addition to youth attending in person, the event presentations will be available on a live webcast for students around the world. 
• TED-ED on TED.com: With support and underwriting from Kohl’s, TED will launch a new resource on TED.com designed to provide free content for educators and students around the world. The resource will include a new virtual library, designed for the unique needs of teachers and students, which will aggregate TEDTalks and other “best of the web” videos. TED-ED will also provide supplementary lesson plans, discussion questions and learning applications for each posted video.

Kohl’s has a long-standing commitment to supporting kids programs. Since 2000, Kohl’s has raised more than $180 million for kids health and education initiatives nationwide. For more information on Kohl’s philanthropic efforts, visit www.Kohls.com/Cares.

About Kohl’s Department Stores

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. With a commitment to environmental leadership, Kohl’s operates 1,127 stores in 49 states. In support of the communities it serves, Kohl’s has raised more than $180 million for children’s initiatives nationwide through its Kohl’s Cares® cause merchandise program, which operates under Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.Kohls.com.

About TED

TED is a non-profit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Over the past 26 years TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a parallel conference, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland. TED’s media initiatives include TED Conversations, enabling broad conversations among TED fans; and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Kohl's Department Stores

Kohl's Department Stores

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. With a commitment to environmental leadership, Kohl’s operates 1,155 stores in 49 states. In support of the communities it serves, Kohl’s has raised more than $231 million for children’s initiatives nationwide through its Kohl’s Cares® cause merchandise program, which operates under Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.Kohls.com, join the discussion on Facebook (facebook.com/Kohls) or Twitter (twitter.com/Kohls) or get inspired on Pinterest (pinterest.com/Kohls) and Instagram (instagram.com/Kohls).

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