Mr. Bones, Kiehl's Icon, Gets Thirteen Siblings to Help Fight HIV/AIDS

Mark Thompson READ TIME: 4 MIN.

New York, NY- Dating back to the early days, Kiehl's Since 1851 has been committed to the betterment of the communities in which it does business.

Kiehl's announced their newest global program "Meet Mr. Bones" - celebrating Kiehl's scientific heritage and commitment to giving back in partnership with influencers from all genres including Grammy award-winning musician Alicia Keys, actor Zach Galifianakis, and pop-artist Kenny Scharf.

The original Mr. Bones skeleton is the actual human skeleton used by founding family member, Aaron Morse during consultations to educate patrons on various ailments - and how Kiehl's remedies would address them. Today, Mr. Bones represents Kiehl's pharmacy heritage, commitment to customer service, education and science.

With Meet Mr. Bones, Kiehl's celebrates its own icon by partnering with 13 iconic influencers for our first public art installation. Each partner was given free rein to design and build his or her own Mr. Bones, and each will be on display throughout the seven New York metro area stores for six weeks, June 2 through July 14th.

Kiehl's partners, each of whom is participating on behalf of their chosen charity, are:

Alicia Keys
Costello Tagliapietra
David Chang with Steve Keene
Desi Santiago
Frank Kozik
Kenny Scharf
Nathan Sawaya
Olek
Padma Lakshmi
Tats Cru
Timothy White
Zach Galifianakis
Terry Richardson

For their participation in the project, $200,000 will be donated to organizations supporting Children, the Environment, and HIV/AIDS causes worldwide that were chosen by Kiehl's partners. At the end of 2012, each of these Mr. Bones will be auctioned off to further benefit each charity.

Beginning June 2 and through July 14, all 13 of the Mr. Bones will be on display during store hours at Kiehl's free-standing stores throughout the New York metro area for the enjoyment of our patrons:

� Kiehl's Since 1851, 109 Third Avenue, New York
� Kiehl's Since 1851, 154 Columbus Avenue, New York
� Kiehl's Since 1851, 841 Lexington Ave., New York
� Kiehl's Since 1851, 400 W. 14th St., New York, NY
� Kiehl's Since 1851, Roosevelt Field Mall, 630 Old Country Rd., Garden City, NY
� Kiehl's Since 1851, Garden State Plaza, 355 Route 17 North, One Garden State Plaza, Paramus, NJ
� Kiehl's Since 1851, The Mall at Short Hills, 1200 Morris Turnpike, Short Hills

To further engage customers to learn more about Kiehl's heritage, a vast in-store and online media project will launch in conjunction with the Mr. Bones appearances in our stores, where Kiehl's guests can learn more about the project, and enter to win one of 206 prizes, one for every bone in the skeleton.

� Photos and Videos from each partner describing their Mr. Bones will be available on https://www.facebook.com/KiehlsSince1851

� IN KIEHL'S STORES: Patrons who participate in a complimentary skin care consultation or 20-minute facial or make a purchase will be given the chance to win prizes including Kiehl's gift cards (valued from $25 to $500) and full-size Kiehl's products, T-shirts, and even a dermatologist visit with Kiehl's consulting dermatologist Dr. Adam Geyer. In a game of chance, guests will get to choose a Kiehl's packette sample out of a box of samples, some of which are specially marked as prize-winners.

� IN KIEHL'S STORES VIA TWITTER: Patrons who Tweet their "check in" or photo of Mr. Bones from any retail store to @KiehlsNYC and include #MrBones and #KiehlsGives, can win prizes that include a $500 Kiehl's gift card.

� ON FACEBOOK: Visitors to https://www.facebook.com/KiehlsSince1851 will be able to personalize and style their own Mr. Bones, save it to the Kiehl's gallery, and enter to win prizes including a $1,000 Kiehl's gift card. The personalized Mr. Bones can also be saved and shared on the participant's Facebook page.

Kiehl's Since 1851 was founded as an old-world apothecary in New York's East Village neighborhood. Its unique, extensive background represents a blend of cosmetic, pharmaceutical, herbal, and medicinal knowledge developed and passed on through the generations. www.kiehls.com

The Mission of Kiehl's states that we are "to improve in some way the quality of the community... making for better citizens, better firms, and better communities."

To that end, Kiehl's focuses its efforts first and foremost on the betterment of its local communities by targeting philanthropic endeavors on the needs and concerns of its citizens.

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by Mark Thompson , EDGE Style & Travel Editor

A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.

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