Sierra Club "Earth Day" Sweepstakes Official Rules

Sierra Club is the sole sponsor of the Sierra Club "Earth Day" Sweepstakes and is solely responsible for this promotion and prizes associated.

1. How to enter: No purchase or Internet access necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. The "Earth Day" Contest ("contest") begins at midnight Pacific standard time (PST) on Thursday, April 7th and ends at midnight PST on Monday, May  2nd ("entry period"). There are two ways to enter: online or by mail. To enter online, go to www.sierraclub.org/earthday. Follow the directions to complete the entry form, and click Enter. Entrants must complete all data requested on the form. The Sierra Club must receive online entries by April 30th 2011. Limit one entry per person. Incomplete entries are void.

You may also enter the contest by printing your name, address, city, state, zip code, telephone number, e-mail address (optional), and the words "Earth Day contest" on an 8.5-by-11-inch, letter-size piece of paper and mailing it to: Earth Day contest, Sierra Club, 85 Second St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3459. Mail-in entries must be received by April 30th, 2011. Limit one entry per person. All entries become the property of the Sierra Club and will not be acknowledged or returned. Illegible, photocopied, or other mechanically reproduced entries are void.

The Sierra Club assumes no responsibility for lost, late, misdirected, stolen, illegible, mutilated, altered, damaged, incomplete, or postage-due entries or for any computer, online, telephone, cable, network, electronic, or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, availability, traffic congestion, or garbled or jumbled transmissions or service provider, Web site, or other accessibility or availability issues, unauthorized human intervention, or any other error, omission, or technical malfunction that may occur. Entrants shall be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain name associated with the submitted e-mail address.

2. Eligibility: The contest is only open to legal residents of the United States (excluding Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and Tennessee) who are 18 years of age or older on the date the contest begins. Employees of the Sierra Club and its subsidiaries, affiliates, prize suppliers, and advertising and promotional agencies, their immediate families (spouses, parents, children, and siblings and their spouses), and individuals living in the same household as such employees are ineligible. The contest is governed by the laws of the United States and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void in Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and wherever prohibited by law with no exceptions.

3. Judging: The winners will be selected by a random drawing by May 6th, 2011, from all eligible entries received. The prize drawing will be conducted at the Sierra Club's office at 85 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94105-3459. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by the Official Contest Rules and the decisions of the judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects. The odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received. Limit one prize per person, family, or household from any Sierra Club-sponsored contest. The winner will be notified via e-mail, U.S. mail, and/or by overnight courier.

4. Prizes: Prizes and approximate retail value (ARV): One (1) first prize:

Trip for two to Puerto Rico's Vieques Island (approximate retail value: $4,525). Includes two (2) coach class, round trip airline tickets from the major commercial airport closest to winner's home in the continental US to Vieques Island. Restrictions may apply on airports, travel dates and times (Approximate value for 2 tickets: $1,400). 5-day compact car rental with Enterprise, or similar car rental (Approximate $225 value). 5 nights for two adults in a queen ocean-view room at the Inn on the Blue Horizon (approximate value $1,700). One (1) gift certificate for BCBGMAXAZRIA ($1,000). Excursion for two to Mosquito Bay (bioluminescent bay) ($200).

Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion. The Sierra Club reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in the event the offered prize is unavailable. No substitution or transfer of prize permitted except as provided for at the sole discretion of the Sierra Club. Trip must be completed by December 14th, 2011, or else it will be forfeited. Blackout dates apply.  Meals, tips, and other transportation and incidentals are not included.

5. General conditions: All federal, state, and local taxes, fees, and surcharges on prize packages are the sole responsibility of the prizewinner. The prizewinner will be required to execute and return, as directed, an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form within ten (10) days following notification that the winner has won the prize. Return of a prize notification as undeliverable, failure to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form, or any other failure to comply with any official rules will result in disqualification and the selection of an alternate winner.

The winner grants the Sierra Club the right to use and publish his or her legal name and state of residence online and in print, or any other media, in connection with the contest. Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for the Sierra Club and its affiliates and their advertising and promotional agencies to use the prizewinners' names and likenesses for editorial, advertising, and promotional purposes without payment of additional compensation unless prohibited by law. By entering, participants release and hold harmless the Sierra Club and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and representatives from any and all liability for any injuries, loss, claim, action, demand, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the contest, any prize won, participation in any prize trip, any misuse or malfunction of any prize awarded, participation in any contest-related activity, or participation in the contest.

By entering this contest, the contestant agrees to the following Statement:

I expressly understand that Section 1542 of the Civil Code of California provides substantially as follows: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him, must have materially affected his settlement with debtor." The provisions of this Section 1542 of the Civil Code of California and any similar law of any state, territory, or other jurisdiction are hereby expressly waived.

As a condition of participating in the contest, the participant agrees that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the contest, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively, before a court of competent jurisdiction located in San Francisco, CA, which court shall apply the laws of the state of the California without regard for rules of conflicts of law. In any such dispute, the participant shall, under no circumstances, be entitled to claim punitive, incidental, or consequential damages or any other damages, including attorneys' fees, other than the participant's actual out-of-pocket expenses (if any) associated with participating in the contest, and the participant hereby waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

Caution: Any attempt by a contestant or any other individual to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws, and should such an attempt be made, the Sierra Club reserves the right to seek damages from any such contestant to the fullest extent permitted by law.

6. Limitations of liability: The Sierra Club is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information caused by any technical or human error that may occur in the processing of submissions in the contest, including but not limited to any misprints or typographical errors or computer failure. The Sierra Club assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, deletion, defect, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. If, for any reason, the contest is not capable of completion as planned--including by reasons of tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of the Sierra Club that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the contest--the Sierra Club reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the contest.

7. Names of the winners: For the winners' names, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope after April 30th 2011, to: "Earth Day Sweepstakes", Sierra Club, 85 Second St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3459.

 

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Photo: Baby sea turtle photo courtesy of USFWS National Digital Library.