Does your school's gym need a makeover? Could the library use an updated collection of books? Perhaps the cafeteria is desperate for new chairs? If any of these sound like a need of your school, there could be help on the way from Henkel, one of the country's largest marketers of household brands, including Dial® soaps, Purex® laundry detergents, Renuzit® air fresheners, Loctite® adhesives and Right Guard® antiperspirants.

Through the "2008 Henkel Helps Schools" Contest, which runs from August 10, 2008, to September 22, 2008, one deserving, winning school will be awarded a $25,000 cash prize for renovations and updates.

To enter the Henkel Helps Schools Contest, students from grades K through 12, parents, teachers and members of the community are invited to visit http://www.henkelhelps.com/for the opportunity to nominate, in a short submission of 200 to 500 words, an area of their local school in need of a transformation. A panel of Henkel judges will narrow down the nominations to 10 finalists based on a number of criteria, including originality of the nomination, creativity, enthusiasm exhibited in the essay and grammar. Online, public voting, October 6, 2008, through October 19, 2008, will determine which finalist school will win the $25,000 grand prize and a visit from Henkel Helps representatives, who will present the check and showcase Henkel's commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. Two additional schools will be chosen to receive runners up prizes, each winning $2,500 for school improvements.

"Our company vision at Henkel is to make people's lives easier, better and more beautiful," said spokesperson Natalie Violi. "By reaching out to America's students and schools, we believe we can have a positive impact on the lives and education of the next generation."

In addition to the contest, consumers across the country can go to http://www.henkelhelps.com/to enter to win a weekly prize pack drawing of Henkel products worth $200. Henkel will give away one prize pack per week during the contest period. Products in the prize pack include popular brands like Dial® soaps, Purex® laundry detergents, Renuzit® air fresheners, Soft Scrub® household cleaners, and Soft & Dri® and Right Guard® deodorants and antiperspirants.

Social Responsibility
Henkel believes in social responsibility, and in addition to a number of other programs, Henkel has developed the Henkel Smile program. This program provides financial contributions to organizations in which Henkel employees and retirees volunteer their time. In some cases, Henkel offers paid time off to employees to additionally support their volunteer efforts. Since 2001, Henkel has annually set aside one million euros especially to support children and young people. More than 2,000 volunteer programs have been supported to date and over 45,000 children worldwide in 105 countries have been helped.

About Henkel
For more than 130 years, Henkel has been a leader with brands and technologies that make people's lives easier, better and more beautiful.
Henkel operates in three business areas - Home Care, Personal Care, and Adhesive Technologies - and is ranked among the Fortune Global 500 companies. More than 60 percent of Henkel's sales are in fast-moving consumer goods, while the industrial business accounts for almost 40 percent of the company's total sales. In fiscal 2007, Henkel generated sales of 13,074 million euros and operating profit of 1,344 million euros. Our more than 55,000 employees worldwide are dedicated to fulfilling our corporate claim, "A Brand like a Friend," and ensuring that people in more than 125 countries can trust in brands and technologies from Henkel.