Ben & Jerry`s--R-- Teams With The American Red Cross In New `PINT-FOR-PINT` Program
BURLINGTON, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Apr 13, 2001--College students will soon get an extra-sweet incentive to abandon their books for about an hour. The socially-conscious confectioners at Ben & Jerry`s are tantalizing taste buds with free ice cream at 26 college and university campuses across the country, in a nationwide program designed to help boost blood donations for the American Red Cross. Talk about cool!
``We call it the Pint-For-Pint program,`` explains Sarah Sparks, sponsorship manager for Vermont-based ice cream innovator Ben & Jerry`s. ``The Ben & Jerry`s Scoop Truck will be on hand with free ice cream at each event to provide instant gratification for anyone who simply stops by and wants to learn more about the American Red Cross. And then we have a special thank-you for students who either come to donate blood during the campus drive or who commit to volunteer to help with one of the many other vital services that the Red Cross offers -- we`ll send them home with a coupon redeemable for a free pint of their favorite flavor.``
The sweet enticement is all for a good cause, of course. The Red Cross relies on millions of volunteer donors who give through blood donations - a precious raw material - to save others. Patients who need blood transfusions include children with sickle cell anemia, accident victims, premature babies, those undergoing organ transplants, and more.
``We`re excited that teaming with Ben & Jerry`s in the on-campus Pint-For-Pint program will not only help to raise needed blood supplies, but will also allow us to raise awareness about the Red Cross with a whole new generation,`` notes Joyce Williams, vice president of donor services for the American Red Cross. ``It`s a great opportunity to encourage young people to become lifelong blood donors, and to talk with them about all the other wonderful things that the Red Cross does, from teaching first aid, CPR, and other health safety skills to providing international disaster relief.``
Lending a helping scoop on college campuses makes a natural fit for Ben & Jerry`s. ``The American Red Cross is all about caring and helping neighbors, and that`s what Ben & Jerry`s tries to facilitate as part of our social mission,`` emphasizes Sparks. ``Often, college students are looking for opportunities to get involved and to make a difference, but they`re busy and may have a hard time getting off campus. We wanted to give them an opportunity to do something good and to make it very easy, something they could do right on campus.``
For the ``inside scoop`` on Ben & Jerry`s exciting Pint-for-Pint free ice cream program, including dates and college and university locations, click on www.benjerry.com. And to learn more about the American Red Cross and its many life-saving and humanitarian services, visit www.redcross.org.
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