Discover Card Raises the Stakes in World Record-Breaking Halloween Pumpkin Carving Contest; Will Make Dollar-for-Pumpkin Educational Donation on Behalf of Winning Town

Discover Card Challenge Gives Keene, NH and Highwood, IL Residents Chance to Break World Record and Support Education in Their Communities

RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To celebrate Halloween and embrace its orange heritage, Discover Card is putting some skin in the game in a pumpkin-carving competition between two U.S. towns during their annual fall festivals. The company known for its cash rewards will be making a dollar-for-pumpkin educational donation on behalf of the community that produces and displays the most “carved and lit” pumpkins at one time.

“Having Discover on board supporting our pumpkin carving efforts is bringing our community even closer together toward the common goal of breaking a massive world record”

Keene, New Hampshire-area residents will challenge Highwood, Illinois residents on Oct. 20 for a Guinness World Record title following Highwood’s world record set in 2011, when 30,919 pumpkins were carved and lit at the Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival. Discover will make a dollar-for-pumpkin donation to an educational non-profit chosen by the winning town. For the town that comes in second, Discover will make a $10,000 donation to an educational non-profit of their choosing.

"Having Discover on board supporting our pumpkin carving efforts is bringing our community even closer together toward the common goal of breaking a massive world record," says Highwood Mayor Charlie Pecaro. "Of course, the bragging rights as the record breaker will be a sweet spot for Highwood, but the incentive Discover has offered completely ups the ante for the title. Winning this donation for our library will do so much for our community. We are so grateful for this opportunity."

"The beauty of this award is the way it ties in with the Keene Pumpkin Festival/Let It Shine's overall purpose of giving to the community,” said Mike Haines, President, Let it Shine. “Not only do we sponsor the beautiful gift of the festival itself, but we provide an opportunity for more than 40 non-profits to have one of their best fund-raising days of the year. And those non-profits pump that money back into serving the neediest within our community. Thanks to Discover, now there is the opportunity for us to win a major award for a local educational endeavor."

Discover’s donation builds on the company’s focus on supporting education in communities throughout the country. Earlier this year, Discover announced a 5-year, $10 million investment by initiating Pathway to Financial Success, a grant program designed to get financial education curriculum into all public high schools in the United States.

“Discover strives to make the communities where we live and work better places for everyone,” said Kathryn Beiser, vice president of corporate communications at Discover. “The Discover Card Challenge is a fun and meaningful way to support our commitment to education while having some fun along the way. We love the idea of a little friendly competition and can’t wait to see which city breaks the record.”

America's home and lifestyle brand, HGTV, also will take part in the festivities when it visits both towns to film for a new program on the network, “Pumpkin Wars!” The one-hour special will showcase the competition and debuts Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. CDT.

For more information on the Highwood and Keene Pumpkin Festivals, visit www.HighwoodPumpkinFest.com and www.pumpkinfestival.org, respectively. For more information about Discover, visit www.Discover.com.

About Discover

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company operates the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers home loans, private student loans, personal loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its direct banking business. Its payment businesses consist of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com.