FORT WAYNE, Ind., June 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 19th annual Vera Bradley Classic Golf & Tennis Tournament raises $1,001,145. The four-day event, held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the largest women's amateur golf and tennis charity event in the nation. Nearly 600 participants and 300 volunteers came together to have fun and raise funds for the cause; women from 11 states participated.

The funds support breast cancer research at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis, a nationally ranked cancer center. This brings the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer's total giving to nearly $16 million.

"The first Vera Bradley Classic, almost 20 years ago, raised about $60,000, and we were excited," said Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer Cofounder. "To raise more than $1 million for the cause this year inspires our hope that a cure is within reach."

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center hosts 22 labs and 36 university-wide researchers working on 85 different projects with one shared goal: to end breast cancer.

About the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer: The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer is celebrating its 19th year of funding breast cancer research. With more than $20 million pledged to support a team of researchers and clinicians at the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer Research Laboratories at the Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer is doing its part to eradicate breast cancer. The Foundation receives funding through an annual gift from Vera Bradley (VRA), as well as special events across the nation and through donations on www.verabradley.org.

CONTACT: Media Contact:
         Melissa Schenkel
         mschenkel@verabradley.com
         260.207.5176