Monday, June 21, 2010

Wendy’s® Partners with Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption for a Sweet Fundraiser

Buy a Frosty™ Key Tag for $1 and Enjoy Free Jr. Frostys through December 31st

For $1, customers at participating Wendy’s restaurants can purchase an all-access pass to 6 months of Jr. Frostys while supporting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and its signature program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids.

From June 21 through August 1 or until supplies last, customers can purchase a $1 Frosty key tag at participating Wendy’s in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. By showing the key tag on subsequent visits to Wendy’s, customers will receive a free Jr. Frosty, with any purchase, as often as they wish through December 31, 2010. Wendy’s will donate the net proceeds of key tag sales to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in support of its Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program.

“Every child deserves a family,” said Rita Soronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, a signature program of the Foundation, is getting children adopted in Atlanta and across the nation. Our partnership with Wendy’s and the sale of Frosty key tags makes it easy for people to support our work.”

Craig Madanick, field marketing manager for Wendy’s International, Inc. said, “We strive to keep Dave Thomas’ legacy at the heart of the Wendy’s culture. Dave believed that everyone has a responsibility to give something back, to help those who can’t help themselves. This key tag fund-raiser is one way of giving back to the community where we live and work.”

About the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption: The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the adoptions of the more than 150,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the Foundation implements results-driven national signature programs, foster care adoption awareness initiatives and research-based advocacy efforts. To learn more, visit www.DaveThomasFoundation.org or call 1-800-ASK-DTFA.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Adopt a $5 Duck to Benefit Athletes of Special Olympics Georgia

/PRNewswire/ -- Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA) is holding its annual fundraiser where rubber ducks are adopted for $5 each and raced for prizes to help the nonprofit provide year-round sports training and competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The 2010 Duck Derby will feature thousands of yellow rubber ducks racing in the Little Hooch at Six Flags White Water Park in Marietta June 25. Last year, the event raised $55,169.

With a $5 donation, one racing duck will be adopted in someone's name and entered in the race. Chances to win are increased with a $25 donation, in which the donor receives five duck adoptions and an adorable souvenir duck.

The adoptee of the first duck to cross the finish line wins a three-night stay at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and two airline tickets. Second place prize is one free year of Comcast's HD Preferred Plus XF Triple Play package donated by Allconnect and Comcast. Third place prize is a $250 Kauffman Tire gift card. Fourth place prize is a Nikon Cool Pix Digital Camera from Showtime Photo and Video and fifth place prize is a Verizon Wireless env3 phone by LG.

If the winning duck has one of the preselected numbers, the adoptee might win a Lake Arrowhead home valued at $225,000, two Honda Accords from Milton Martin Honda or a home theater system valued at $50,000, courtesy of EMC Security.

The park opens at 10 a.m. and the race starts at 2 p.m. Visit www.atlantaduckderby.com today to adopt your duck online.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Friday, June 04, 2010

Atlanta Musical Act Donates Proceeds From Song to Support Nashville Flood Relief

/PRNewswire/ -- The Atlanta-based teen band von Grey, featuring four sisters ages 10-15, has announced a charitable gift of music to the City of Nashville. In the aftermath of the disastrous flooding that recently affected central Tennessee, these girls were moved by the devastation and wrote an inspiring song called "Rise Up," dedicated to the city of Nashville and its people. The band's producers and engineers worked on an accelerated schedule to produce the song, which has been formally released today. The following URL links to a video of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0RvbdtWn9Y

The band is donating all proceeds from sales of "Rise Up" to the Nashville-area Red Cross, in support of relief efforts. The band makes an appeal to listeners via their Web site: http://www.vongrey.com/nashville. They have also offered their services at no charge to participate in any relief-related events or live performances.

This gift from von Grey builds upon the band's past history of charitable giving, including recent gifts to Braille Without Borders and the Songs for Kids Foundation. The band is eager to collaborate with media outlets to find creative ways of bringing this song into the public's consciousness and to bring practical help to those in need. Media inquiries can be directed to laurie@majormoxie.com / cell phone: (702) 336-1897.

The von Grey team is asking members of the public to please support this cause by considering a purchase/download of "Rise Up" and to share this mail with others in your network. The viral effect of giving can bring immense good.

The Atlanta music community is proud at the sense of civic duty being shown by this young group of musical professionals and hopes readers will spread the word and offer their support to magnify the impact of this worthy initiative.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia Foundation Awards $25,000 to March of Dimes Helping Georgia's Babies Get a Healthy Start in Life

/PRNewswire/ -- Pregnant women in Georgia will receive critical prenatal services and education from the March of Dimes, thanks to a $25,000 grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA)'s Foundation a private, nonprofit organization wholly funded by BCBSGA's parent company's Foundation.

"This grant will help women have healthy babies by educating them about the importance of good health choices," said Joanne Patterson, March of Dimes Programs Committee Chair. "It's important for women who are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant to use this time to educate themselves on how to have a healthy, full-term baby."

The March of Dimes Georgia Chapter will receive $25,000 from the BCBSGA Foundation to fund local sites for Centering Pregnancy- a model of prenatal care that includes three main components (assessment, education and support) in a group setting. One of the local March of Dimes Centering Pregnancy grants will partially fund the Southwest Public Health District's, Due What's Best project in Albany, GA. The Centering Pregnancy grant will expand access to early prenatal care for low income rural African American women.

Centering Pregnancy has proven to help reduce prematurity rates, increase breastfeeding rates and significantly improve patient satisfaction. Group prenatal care encourages pregnant women to adopt healthy behaviors during pregnancy with a focus on nutrition, weight gain, exercise, hygiene, common discomforts of pregnancy, relaxation breathing, breastfeeding, birth plans, contraception, emotional well-being and pediatric care.

"Our work with the March of Dimes is an integral part of our efforts to improve the lives of the people we serve and the health of our communities," said Monye Connolly, president, BCBSGA. "Through the Foundation, we are able to provide support to vital programs like Centering Pregnancy."

More than 540,000 babies are born too soon each year in the United States. Preterm birth costs the nation more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth face the risk of lifelong health problems such as breathing problems, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, vision and hearing loss.

Even babies born just a few weeks too soon (34-36 weeks gestation, also known as late preterm birth) have higher rates of death and disability than full-term babies.

"This program is an important component of BCBSGA's Foundation's goal of increasing the number of women who receive prenatal care in the first trimester, ultimately helping to reduce the number of babies with a low birth weight or that are born preterm," said Janice Hutchings, program director - social responsibility of BCBSGA's parent company's Foundation. "We are pleased to support the March of Dimes to address such critical health issues."

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage