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Subject: Press Release: Sierra Club Partners with Microsoft i'm initiative
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 14:03:41 -0500
For Immediate Release:
Mar. 1, 2007
Nine Non-profit Organizations Partner in the i'm Initiative
Windows Live Messenger connects customers to top social causes through the
donation of
Microsoft advertising dollars.
WASHINGTON, DC. - Mar. 1, 2007 - Representatives from nine of the world's
most reputable non-profit cause organizations gathered today to announce
their involvement in the i'm Initiative and to discuss the role technology
is increasingly playing in their efforts to reach new audiences. This new
initiative connects nine of the world's most effective organizations
dedicated to social causes to Windows Live Messenger customers. When
joining the program at http://im.live.com, customers will be asked to
select the cause organization they are most passionate about to benefit
from donations generated from their conversations on Windows Live
Messenger.
Every time a customer has a conversation using i'm, Microsoft shares a
portion of the program's advertising revenue with the participating i'm
Initiative organization of his or her choice. While there is no set cap on
the amount each cause can receive, Microsoft will make a minimum $100,000
guaranteed donation to each of the nine organizations during the first year
of the program.
Designed to empower people to make a difference without spending a dime,
the i'm Initiative will help support causes that are confronting some of
the world's most urgent social issues. The i'm Initiative aims to help the
organizations involved to broaden their reach in a sustainable and new way,
allowing the millions of people already using Windows Live Messenger today
to be a part of the solution.
According to a 2006 Cone Cause Millennial Study, 61% of young Americans
between the ages of 13 and 25 are currently worried about the state of the
world today and feel personally responsible to make a difference.
The nine organizations people can select from include:
* American Red Cross - The American Red Cross helps people prevent,
prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million
volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters;
taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members
separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave
blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood
products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents
of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services
and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on
donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
* Boys & Girls Clubs of America - Boys & Girls Clubs of America
comprises a national network of some 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities
annually serving more than 4.6 million young people, in all 50 states and
on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids,"
the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a
daily basis. Key programs emphasize leadership development, education and
career exploration, financial literacy, health and life skills, the arts,
sports, fitness and recreation, and family outreach.
* The National AIDS Fund - Since 1988, the National AIDS Fund has been
promoting leadership and generating resources for effective community
responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We continue to build healthy
communities through an expanding network, of Community Partnerships that
support over 400 grassroots organizations every year. These groups provide
HIV prevention, care, and support services to individuals and families most
impacted by HIV/AIDS - youth, communities of color, women and gay men. We
make sure communities have access to the most effective programs for
preventing HIV.
* National Multiple Sclerosis Society - The mission of the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society is to end the devastating effects of MS. Founded
in 1946, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society supports more MS research,
offers more services for people with MS, provides more professional
education programs, and furthers more MS advocacy efforts than any other MS
organization in the world.
* ninemillion.org - ninemillion.org is a UN Refugee Agency-led campaign
to raise awareness and funds for the nine million refugee children around
the world. Many of these children have suffered enormous atrocities and are
forced to spend years of their young lives away from home with little hope
of returning. They have extremely limited access to education and often no
opportunities to play. They are considered the most forgotten children in
the world. ninemillion.org gives these children a voice, and the
opportunity to a better future by providing innovative education and sport
programs.
* Sierra Club - Sierra Club is one of America's oldest, largest and
most influential grassroots environmental organizations, and our members
are more than 750,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, we
work together to protect our communities and the planet. Since 1960, the
Sierra Club and its members have worked to keep our air and water clean,
and have protected over 160 million acres of wildlands including national
treasures like the Grand Canyon, the Florida Everglades, the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge and Giant Sequoia National Monument..
* Stopglobalwarming.org - The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a
non-partisan effort to bring citizens together to declare that global
warming is here now and that it is time to demand solutions. Global warming
is the most urgent issue of our time, and while the problem is of worldwide
significance, we recognize that the United States is the biggest emitter of
greenhouse gases and doing the least about it. The necessary first step
must be to encourage Americans to take action. This online grassroots
movement is about change -- as individuals, as a country, and as a global
community. We are all contributors to global warming and must all be part
of the solution.
* Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Born from a promise between two sisters
- Nancy Brinker to her sister Susan, who died from breast cancer at 36,
Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of
breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to end breast cancer
forever. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Komen
has invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill its promise, becoming the largest
source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in
the world.
* U.S. Fund for UNICEF - For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the
world's leading children's organization, saving more young lives than any
other humanitarian organization. Working in over 150 countries and
territories, UNICEF knows how to save the lives of children with low-cost,
high-impact programs. From child health and nutrition, water and
sanitation, education and protection, UNICEF's experience, resources,
global presence and perspective are unsurpassed in helping save children's
lives.
Customers can participate in and learn more about the i'm Initiative, which
is launching in the United States today, by joining at http://im.live.com
and downloading the latest version of Windows Live Messenger.
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For more information, press only:
Joshua Kittner, American Red Cross (202) 303-4249 [log in to unmask]
Angela Richmond, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, (404) 487-5813
[log in to unmask]
Kandy Ferree, The National AIDS Fund (202) 408-4848 x212
[log in to unmask]
Arney Rosenblat, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (212) 476-0515
[log in to unmask]
Tim Irwin, nineMillion.org (202) 243-7623 [log in to unmask]
Orli Cotel, Sierra Club, (415) 977-5627 [log in to unmask]
Heather Lylis, StopGlobalWarming.org (212) 691-2800
[log in to unmask]
Ann Jane Cox, Susan G. Komen for the Cure (972) 830-2664
[log in to unmask]
Marissa Buckanoff, U.S. Fund for UNICEF (212) 922-2485
[log in to unmask]
Katie Smith-Adair, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, (503) 443-7000,
[log in to unmask]
David Willett
National Press Secretary
Sierra Club
(202) 675-6698 (w)
(202) 491-6919 (m)
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