By Paul Osborne

JCPenney has teamed up with the USOC to help US Olympic and Paralympic athletes on their road to Sochi 2014 ©Getty Images/USOCJanuary 2 - American retailer JCPenney has teamed up with the United States Olympic Committee as part of its charitable programme, JCPenney Cares, which will see the firm donate money to help Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the road to Sochi 2014.


Throughout the month of January, JCPenney will ask its customers to round-up their orders, in store or online, to the nearest whole dollar with the difference then being donated to the US Olympic Committee.

"We are proud to join the US Olympic Committee in their mission of helping American athletes achieve competitive excellence," said Kristin Hays, director and chairman of the JCPenney Cares board.

"The US. Olympic and Paralympic teams are a point of pride, and supporting not only the current stars, but also the future Olympians and Paralympians is something all of us can get behind."

Shoppers at JCPenney will be asked to round their orders up to the nearest dollar with the difference being donated to the US Olympic Committee ©Getty ImagesShoppers at JCPenney will be asked to round their orders up to the nearest dollar with the difference being donated to the US Olympic Committee ©Getty Images



The USOC, a non-profit organisation that receives no Government funding for its Olympic programming, supports American Olympic and Paralympic athletes with performance services, including sports medicine; strength and conditioning; psychology, physiology and nutrition assistance; and performance technology.

"We are grateful to JCPenney and its customers for supporting our Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls," said Lisa Baird, USOC's chief marketing officer.

"We are inspired by the commitment America's elite athletes put forth to achieve their goals, and with the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games just around the corner, we join fans of Team USA in celebrating their accomplishments."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]