Dallas-based Telligent Joins National Online Campaign to Deliver a Truckload of Food for Local Families in Need
DALLAS May 12, 2009 – Even if you knew about the growing problem of childhood hunger in America, what could one person do to make a significant difference? Fortunately for North Texas area children, Telligent, MediaSauce, and almost 450 Texans took action to deliver a truckload of food for local children and their families.
Leading the corporate charge in Texas, Telligent promoted the campaign throughout the state and beyond with the help of their employees, clients, and strategic partners. Lawrence Liu, director of platform strategy, and George Dearing, corporate evangelist, spearhead the company’s efforts to promote the campaign through their blogs and Twitter accounts.
“I strongly believe in this cause, since I have three kids and just can’t imagine them going hungry,” said Liu, “This campaign made it easy for us to rally our communities and for each of us to take meaningful action. It was encouraging to see that so many other people took part.”
One in six U.S. children worry about when their next meal will take place. As the recession deepens and unemployment rises, more American families face hunger for the first time. A record 30 million Americans depend on food stamps, and food banks face unprecedented demands these days. The staggering statistics inspired Indianapolis-based MediaSauce to launch the Pledge to End Hunger this past March at the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.
Because of the support of 448 Texans, Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) delivered 15 tons of protein to the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) today as part of their commitment in the Pledge to End Hunger. Representatives from MediaSauce, Telligent, Tyson, and NTFB attended the ceremony.
“We are grateful for Tyson’s passion to help end hunger. This donation of protein could not have come at a better time as we recently learned that once again Texas leads the nation with the highest rate of food insecure children. Thanks to Tyson we will be able to provide nutritious meals to thousands of families.” Jan Pruitt, North Texas Food Bank President and CEO.
The Pledge to End Hunger is a national, collaborative online initiative leveraging the power of social media to help in the fight against hunger. Visitors to the website http://www.pledgetoendhunger.com sign a pledge to end hunger by committing to give, volunteer or share a message with others. Pledge to End Hunger uses powerful social media tools to create awareness, generate conversation and motivate people to participate through popular social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. MediaSauce teamed up with sponsors, Kimball Office, Kompolt, and Share Our Strength to engage their social networks for support.
“Our initial goal for getting people to pledge was reached during the first day.” said Scott Henderson, Cause Marketing Director at MediaSauce. “And thanks to the support of more than 4,750 pledges and the generosity of Tyson Foods, much needed protein will feed hungry children in Austin, St. Louis, Dallas, and Indianapolis.”
So far, the campaign has assembled almost 5,000 individuals who vowed to make a difference for the more than 12 million children going hungry. Additionally, more than 2,600 people have joined the group’s Facebook cause and more than $28,000 in individual and matching donations from over 700 people has been raised to help Share Our Strength.
A friendly competition was held online between state communities to see who could collect the most pledges. The top three states earned a truckload of protein from Tyson Foods benefitting selected food banks. Texas had the third largest amount of people of any state to sign pledge, surpassed only by Indiana and Missouri.
“To watch so many people actively engaged in the Pledge to End Hunger showed us the power of online social media,” said Ed Nicholson, Director of Community Relations for Tyson Foods. “In just a few days enough people pledged to raise more than 140,000 lbs of Tyson Foods products, which is equivalent to more than 560,000 meals with protein. We’re honored to be a part of this innovative approach to ending hunger.”
“We’re very happy that Lawrence, George, the rest of the Telligent team, and everyone else took advantage of the platform to unite passionate people to help solve a complex problem,” said Henderson. “When it’s easy to share your message and support your cause, it’s amazing how willing corporations and individuals are to make a difference. Now, children in need living in the counties of North Texas can have some more healthy meals.”
