Claritin® Launches 20 Minutes of Spring Project with Actress Hilary Duff and Boys & Girls Clubs of America

New Survey Suggests Spending 20 Minutes Outdoors in Nature May Promote Happiness

WHIPPANY, N.J., April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the makers of Claritin® launched their 20 Minutes of Spring Project with actress Hilary Duff and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the nation's leading youth service organization. The goal of this campaign is to encourage people to get outside to enjoy the simple joys the outdoors can bring. The makers of Claritin commissioned a survey, which found that spending just 20 minutes outside in nature can help you feel happy. It's time to get outside and find happiness.

As a mom, Hilary Duff, agrees with the mission to get more people enjoying the outdoors, and has joined kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem to get into the spirit of the 20 Minutes of Spring Project with a new Imagination Playground. An Imagination Playground is a portable playground with giant foam blocks, flexible tubes, gears and other fun shapes that allow children to explore and build the play space they want. This Imagination Playground is particularly relevant, as the vast majority (95 percent) of nationally representative adults surveyed said some of their fondest childhood memories were of playing outside; specifically playing in a public park or playground (54 percent).

"When I was younger, I could not wait for spring to arrive. It was (and still is) my favorite season. As a parent now, spending time outside with my son - whether it's hiking or just an epic game of tag at the park - is so important to me," said Duff. "I am excited to be a part of the 20 Minutes of Spring Project with Claritin, a brand I have always counted on to help me enjoy the outdoors during allergy season, and to help inspire others to enjoy the simple joys of spending time outdoors while supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of America."

Hilary Duff announced that for every outdoor photo posted with both #Claritin and #20MinutesofSpring, through June 21, 2018, a $5 donation will be made to Boys & Girls Clubs of America (up to $50,000). All donations will help kids and teens at Boys & Girls Clubs partake in the simple joys of spending time outdoors. This is the second year of a three year commitment on behalf of Claritin to Boys & Girls Clubs of America of up to $500,000 to fund programming and create resources to help get kids outside. In year one, Claritin and Boys & Girls Clubs of America developed an outdoor activity resource, the Play Breaks Guide, to help support staff at 4,300 Clubs in getting their local youth outside and keeping them active.

"We're thrilled to continue our relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and collaborate with them on the common mission of getting kids outside to experience the simple joys it brings," notes Catherine Vennat, Vice President Marketing, Claritin at Bayer.

Dr. Jennifer Bateman, National Vice President of Youth Development Programs with Boys & Girls Clubs of America added, "Like many kids today, our youth spend much of their time indoors. Through our continued work with Claritin, we have provided our Club staff with support and resources nationwide to help get kids outside."

Survey Findings: Get Outside and Find Your Happiness
While it is not a new idea that children are spending less time playing outdoors than their parents' generation, the survey looked to explore the simple pleasures of outdoor play that adults remember. Highlights include:

• 97 percent of Americans said spring is a great season to experience the simple joys of outdoor activities.
• However, 58 percent of allergy sufferers said due to their allergies, they get "cabin fever" from being stuck indoors.
• 72 percent of parents said as kids they spent at least an hour outdoors outside of school each day during the spring; yet only 59 percent of those same parents said their children spend that same amount of time outside today.
• Majority of parents also believe children today do not spend as much time outside as previous generations due to interest in handheld electronics (66 percent), watching TV (53 percent) and lack of parent's encouragement to get outside (37 percent).

The Claritin 20 Minutes of Spring Project is a multi-faceted campaign to get people outside and will include social tips from a variety of influencers, mobile reminders via local weather alerts and more. To learn about simple ways to get involved and how you can help Boys & Girls Clubs of America, visit Claritin.com/20MinutesofSpring.

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2017, the Group employed around 99,800 people and had sales of EUR 35.0 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.4 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.5 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.us.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,300 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Survey
The Claritin Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among, 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+, with an oversample of up to 500 U.S. parents with kids ages 5-12, and an oversample up to 500 U.S. adult allergy sufferers for each of the two aforementioned audiences, between February 23 and March 5, 2018, using an email invitation and an online survey. The margin of error for the survey was +/- 3.1 percentage points for the nationally representative sample, and +/- 4.4 percentage points for each oversample.

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    Bayer Corporation                 Marina Maher Communications

    Danielle Goonan                   Anne Cummings

    Director, External Communications 212-485-6899 (office)

    U.S. Consumer Health              acummings@hellommc.com

    1-862-404-7775 (office)

    danielle.goonan@bayer.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.