U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team Joins Team Hershey Ahead of Rio 2016 Olympic Games

HERSHEY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Continuing to support hometown heroes, The Hershey Company HSY is excited to announce its sponsorship of the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team. The team is currently training for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Lancaster County, Pa., just 30 minutes from Hershey headquarters.

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Led by Head Coach Craig Parnham, the team recently traveled to London, England to compete against five other world-ranked national field hockey teams in the women's Hockey Champions Trophy 2016. In a thrilling shootout victory against No. 3 Australia, No. 7 Team USA took home the bronze medal. In July, the team will return to its home base in Lancaster to train and compete in the Citi Rio Send-Off Series against India and Canada.

"With so many of our players hailing from Pennsylvania, we are excited to be partnering with The Hershey Company," said Parnham. "As we prepare to go to Rio, it's wonderful to have the support of a strong, iconic company."

Local support is an important component of Hershey's Official Sponsorship of Team USA. Nearly half of the team is native to the state of Pennsylvania, including goalkeeper Jackie Briggs, defender Lauren Crandall and midfielder Katelyn Falgowski.

"The Hershey Company is proud to be supporting Team USA on the world's largest stage," said David Palmer, Director for Consumer Promotions and Planning. "We are excited to expand our hometown support by adding the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team to our roster of athletes."

Earlier this summer, The Hershey Company also announced its sponsorship of Hershey, Pa., native, David Nolan, who competed in the USA Swimming Olympic trials.

In addition to the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey sponsorship, Hershey's brand has partnered with current reigning World and U.S. all-around champion gymnast Simone Biles, London 2012 wrestling gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller, London 2012 Paralympic gold medalist swimmer Mallory Weggemann and the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team. Throughout The Olympics, Hershey's brand will be sending ‘Hellos From Home' to these athletes and other members of Team USA in an effort to encourage and support from a distance. Reese's brand has also partnered with U.S. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn for its ‘Do Summer Like a Winter Olympian' campaign.

The Hershey Company is a proud official sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams. In April, Hershey released new packaging sporting patriotic colors, including red, white and blue lettering for the iconic Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar, which has featured silver lettering for 122 years.

About USA Field Hockey

USA Field Hockey is the national governing body for the sport of field hockey in the United States and is based in Colorado Springs, Colo. USA Field Hockey is committed to providing opportunities for our 25,000 members to participate, develop and excel as players, coaches, umpires and administrators. The U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams strive for competitive excellence in Olympic, Pan American Games, World Cup and other International competitions. USA Field Hockey is a proud member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Hockey Federation. For more information, visit usafieldhockey.com.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has approximately 21,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside. Building on its core business, Hershey is expanding its portfolio to include a broader range of delicious snacks. The company remains focused on growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to extend its competitive advantage in North America.

At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For more than 120 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on giving underserved children the skills and support they need to be successful. Today, the company continues this social purpose through 'Nourishing Minds,' a global initiative that provides basic nutrition to help children learn and grow. From neighborhoods across the United States to the streets of Shanghai and Mumbai and villages of West Africa, our goal is to nourish one million minds by 2020.

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