Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Pledges Help for Kids

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2001--COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY (NYSE:CTB) CEO, Thomas A. Dattilo, presented a pledge to Arnold Palmer for the company's contribution to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women in Orlando, Florida. The commitment was formalized during the Bay Hill Invitational Pro-Am Awards banquet held at the Orlando club last evening.

Previously Cooper had announced its partnership with the non- profit organization, Children's Miracle Network, to help raise funds and awareness for children treated in 170 hospitals across North America. Cooper's goal is to raise more than $1 million in this fund through dealer contributions. (Reference 2/15/01 News Release.)

To date, almost 2,000 Cooper and associated brand dealers representing locations throughout the United States, have joined this program to raise funds for local hospitals. Dealer support is enthusiastic and optimistic about this effort to help children. All dealer-collected donations will stay in the area in which they are raised.

Cooper's matching donation will benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida. The hospital's vision for the future is to expand to a one million square-foot pediatric, campus-like setting to better serve the region's growing healthcare needs. This comprehensive plan will rely on input and support from business and civic leaders, participating on a National Advisory Council appointed by Arnold Palmer and John Bozard, President of the Arnold Palmer Hospital Foundation. At the presentation last evening, Arnold Palmer extended an invitation to Tom Dattilo to join this council.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio and specializes in the manufacture and marketing of automotive products. Products for Cooper's tire group include automotive, motorcycle and truck tires, inner tubes, tread rubber and equipment. In the automotive group, Cooper is an original equipment supplier of sealing, trim, NVH control systems and fluid handling systems for the automotive industry in North America, Europe, Australia and South America. Cooper has more than 20,000 employees and 57 manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.coopertire.com.

Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women is a 281-bed facility dedicated exclusively to the needs of children and women. Located in Orlando, Florida, Arnold Palmer Hospital includes a regional center for neonatal care, maternal intensive care unit, pediatric trauma center and a world-class children's heart program. Plans are underway for a new one million square-foot campus consisting of a new children's hospital, a dedicated women and infants' hospital, Nemours Children's Clinic and an ancillary services building. Since 1989, more than 70,000 babies have been born at Arnold Palmer Hospital. To learn more, visit: www.arnoldpalmerhospital.org.

CONTACT: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Patricia J. Brown, 419/424-4370