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Bassett, VA (October 4, 2005) - October 7 won't be just another casual Friday, at Bassett Furniture. The denim worn on this date will have significant meaning to the employees electing to join millions of others across the country by participating in Lee National Denim Day. The grassroots event, created to raise funds for breast cancer, will celebrate its ten-year anniversary, and Bassett employees will in turn celebrate its first year of participation.

Each year, Lee Jeans designates one day as Lee National Denim Day and invites people to wear denim to work in exchange for a $5 donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In celebration of the program's 10-year anniversary, this year's fundraising goal is $10 million, an amount to which Bassett is working hard to contribute.

"National Denim Day is extremely important to our employees, as many of them have been personally touched by the disease," said Jay Moore, director of public relations. "We enjoy our participation tremendously because it empowers everyone to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer."

"The enthusiastic support we get from companies, organizations and schools every year is overwhelming," said Kathy Collins, vice president of marketing communications for Lee. "The $5 you might normally have spent on lunch has an amazing impact when combined with the donations from people nationwide. It is millions of individuals that make this program a success."

One hundred percent of every dollar raised through Lee National Denim Day goes directly to the Komen Foundation to support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs that might otherwise go unfunded.

Seventy percent of donations from Lee National Denim Day help fund the Komen Foundation Award and Research Grant Program, which funds groundbreaking breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific conferences around the world. Fifteen percent of proceeds go toward local education, screening and treatment programs nationwide to fill gaps in communities other programs may overlook. The remaining funds raised on Lee National Denim Day help support educational efforts through the Komen Foundation's award-winning Web site, www.komen.org, which provides the latest breast health and breast cancer information.

"Every year we get thousands of letters from individuals who are thrilled to have the opportunity to make a donation they know will have a lasting impact on breast cancer programs," said Susan Braun, president and chief executive officer of the Komen Foundation. "We applaud Lee Jeans' efforts, and all organizations that support Lee National Denim Day. These funds are making a difference and getting us closer to a cure every day."

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the Foundation is an international organization with a network of more than 75,000 active volunteers working through local Affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure® to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. A global leader in the fight against breast cancer, the Foundation fulfills its mission through support of innovative breast cancer research grants, meritorious awards, educational and scientific conferences, and community-based outreach programs around the world.For more information about breast health or breast cancer, visit the Foundation's Web site, www.komen.org, or call its National Toll-Free Breast Care Helpline, 1.800 I'M AWARE®.