The new fundraising campaign, which incorporates the tagline "Together We Win," celebrates patriotism and raises money to support Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls.

 

By further emphasizing the US Olympic and Paralympic teams' connection with the USA around the most patriotic time of the year, the campaign will allow the USOC to continue to bring programming to communities throughout the US and support more Americans who want to pursue Olympic and Paralympic dreams, it hopes.

 

The campaign, which continues through Independence Day, will include public service announcements (PSAs) and print advertisements that will appear in media outlets including NBC, Charter Communications, CBS, Comcast and the NHL Network.

 

NBC Universal is the broadcaster of the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games and has agreed to support the USOC's campaign across all NBC Universal networks.

 

US professional sports leagues have also extended their support of the initiative.

 

In addition to airing the PSA on the NHL Network, the NHL is also supporting the initiative on NHL.com.

 

Major League Baseball teams have also supported the initiative.

 

Several teams will run the PSA at ballparks around the nation and Olympians and Paralympians will throw out ceremonial first pitches at several ballparks in June and July.

 

Olympians and Paralympians featured in the creative include skater Jeremy Abbott and Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, basketball player  Lisa Leslie and Lindsey Vonn, who is leading the campaign for women's ski jumping to be included in the Winter Olympics in Vnacouver next month.

 

Lisa Baird, the USOC's chief marketing officer, said: "The US Olympic Committee is proud to be launching 'America Supports Team USA' as a way to partner patriotism and the Olympic Movement.

 

"We hope this event will grow and become a rallying point for American fans of the US Olympic and Paralympic Teams for years to come."

 

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) will also be heavily involved.

 

"America Supports Team USA" will be featured at events such as the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, USA Track & Field National Championships and USA Volleyball's Men's World League and Women's Pan Am Cup in Miami.

 

Bryan Clay, the Olympic decathlon champion, said: "Achieving my Olympic dreams took a great deal of commitment and sacrifice and I could not have done it without the support of my friends and family, USA Track & Field, the US Olympic Committee and USOC Corporate Partners as well as the support of our nation.

 

"The money raised by the 'America Supports Team USA' initiative will not only help offset training and competition costs but will also allow more Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls to achieve their dreams."

 

More details are available from www.teamusa.org.