Beaulieu Vineyard (BV), the great American winery in the heart of the Napa Valley, continues a long term project to benefit hunger relief in America. BV Coastal Estate Wines began the Give & Give Back campaign in fall of 2011 with donations to provide more than 1,000,000 meals to hunger relief agencies, including Seattle based Food Lifeline. With the launch of an innovative digital campaign at facebook.com/bvwines, BV challenges visiting facebook fans to pledge the matching number of volunteer minutes to food relief agencies, like Food Lifeline. The BV Give & Give Back facebook challenge has the potential to provide another 2,500,000 meals for American hunger relief.
“At BV we make wines to enjoy at every American table. The fact that so many people are not able to put food on that table is a critical issue of our times,” says BV Marketing Brand Manager, Noelle Campbell. “In America, more than 50 million people go hungry each day, and 17 million of those are children. Hunger relief has become a focus of our BV mission and a way to give back to the community.”
Using economies of scale in food sourcing and delivery techniques, Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger relief charity, its member food banks, and other food relief organizations, are able to stretch charitable contributions to provide from one, to as many as eight meals per donation dollar. Working with experts at Feeding America and other community advisors, Campbell identified food relief agencies across the country to collaborate with and BV made immediate donations to those relief efforts.
Most relief agencies also rely heavily on volunteers. Volunteer time provides valuable cost savings, freeing up administrative money to purchase necessary food. The Bureau of Labor Statistics evaluates the national average of volunteer work at $21.36 per hour, or the value equivalent of as many as 168 meals.
“Volunteers who pack and sort donations at Food Lifeline represent about 25% of our workforce,” said Linda Nageotte, President and CEO of Food Lifeline. “Our volunteers stand with us on the front lines and are critical to our mission to end hunger in Western Washington.”
The BV Give & Give Back facebook challenge, asks adult facebook users across the country to pledge one million volunteer minutes or more to food banks, soup kitchens and hunger relief agencies. To participate, visit www.bvwines.com or facebook.com/bvwines and “like” BV. Visitors will find a national list of food relief agencies, learn where to volunteer locally, pledge a donation of volunteer minutes, watch a a video, read and post volunteer stories, and download a coupon for BV Coastal Estate Wines. When BV reaches the challenge goal of 1 million volunteer minutes, American wine lovers will have contributed the volunteer time equivalent of $356,000.
“The economy is a challenge for everyone right now, we want to remind people that donating their time can be as valuable as a donation of money or food,” says Campbell. “With the help of fans across the country, the BV Give & Give Back facebook challenge can contribute the value of another 2,500,000 meals for the hungry in America,” says Campbell.
To date, BV Coastal Estate Wines has donated funds to make an immediate contribution to the relief efforts of Food Lifeline, WA; Food Bank of the Rockies, CO; Food Bank Association of New York State, NY; San Francisco and Marin Food Bank , CA; St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, AZ; Greater Chicago Food Depository, IL; Freestore Food Bank, OH; North Texas Food Bank, TX; The Greater Boston Food Bank, MA; Food Bank of Southern California, CA; Napa Valley Food Bank, CA; Florida Association of Food Banks, FL, and a donation to the national efforts of Feeding America.
Beaulieu Vineyard is produced by Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (DC&E), which is part of Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O); the world’s leading premium drinks business. DC&E produces and markets premium wines from around the globe including Napa Valley, Sonoma, the California Central Coast, France, New Zealand and Australia. Brands include: Sterling Vineyards, Sterling Vintner’s Collection, Chalone Vineyard, Acacia Vineyard and Rosenblum Cellars. DC&E is also a leading importer of estate-bottled wines from Burgundy. For more information about Diageo, its people, brands and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com.
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