Winners of 'Who Is There For You?' Campaign Help to Improve Lives of Others

SPARTANBURG, S.C., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advance America, the country's leading provider of payday cash advance services, today announced the winners of more than $60,000 in the 'Who Is There For You?' campaign, which celebrates the selfless good deeds that inspire people to persist through hard times.

'Everyone needs someone they can count on -- a family member who picks us up when we're down or a friend who champions our successes,' said Ken Compton, chief executive officer of Advance America. 'Our Company is proud to recognize the importance of these individuals and the quiet, often unnoticed, good deeds that improve the lives and communities of countless Americans.'

Advance America awarded the $50,000 'Who Is There for You?' Grand Prize to Melinda Lopez-Tavares and her nominator, Kelli Carlson of Pawtucket, RI. The prize is divided equally among them.

Ms. Carlson met her friend, Ms. Lopez-Tavares, for the first time in the hospital where they both delivered their sons. But they began to forge a lasting and uncommon bond when they were reunited in another hospital -- only days later -- where their infant sons were being treated for serious heart conditions. They have since co-founded a Rhode Island support group for families affected by congenital heart defects called Helping Hands Healing Hearts.

'I am thrilled that Advance America chose Melinda,' Ms. Carlson said. 'She is the kind of person who continually puts her friends and family first, and would try to help them through any obstacle in life.'

In her winning submission, Ms. Carlson described the profound role Ms. Lopez-Tavares has played in her life: 'I don't know what I would do without Melinda. She is truly an amazing person who doesn't recognize her own strength...She is an example of what a true friend should be, and a shining example of how to live in the face of adversity. She is my dear friend. And while we both wish that our sons were not born with heart defects, I know that I would not give her up for anything.'

The $10,000 Runner-Up Prize will be shared by Suzanne Mann and her nominator, Reba Caffee of Pleasant Grove, AL. Ms. Caffee described in her campaign entry how Ms. Mann helped her family, including five daughters, get settled in a new city.