Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Loads of Hope by TIDE


Do you wash with Tide? I do and have for years. Personally, it gets the stains out best. Now here is another reason you should use Tide... No, no, not because they sponsor good-looking, NASCAR drivers. But because they travel city to city by washing the clothes of victims of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, California wildfires, Iowa floods, and other places.

Tide's Loads of Hope helps for days, weeks and years after a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. They travel with the Tide CleanStart truck, which is their free mobile laundry facility. With 32 high-efficiency washers and dryers, the Tide CleanStart truck:

- Can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day - equal to one year's worth of laundry for a single family.
- Will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period.

- Has washed more than 20,000 loads of laundry for New Orleans families.
Most importantly, the Tide CleanStart truck means we're equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country.

They have been doing this for three years. This program is perfectly aligned with their brand, it such a great thing to do and captures the spirit of the Tide family and employees. We all know that when hit with a natural disaster, most families are left with only the clothes on their back. Through floods, fire, and dirt, etc... I am sure the opportunity to put on clean clothes is welcomed.

Way to go Tide. Great program for you and the families and individuals you help! Who ever thought washing clothes could be such a great thing to do!

PS: Next time you are walking down the laundry detergent aisle at the super-market, go ahead and grab Tide. You'll not only have clean clothes but support a great program.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Subaru "Shares the Love' Campaign

My second car was a Subaru. I totaled my first car, a Toyota Corolla in an accident, and broke my leg in three places and went through the windshield, requiring a lot of stitches to my forehead. So, it landed in the junkyard.

Now, I was on the hunt for a new car...(after five months of being in a cast.) Out of college, working, making decent money...I really had my eye set on a sports car. It was hot. But, it wasn't a logical car. I knew it but I really wanted it. The sports car was a 2-seater with a trunk that was so small it couldn't even hold 5 grocery bags. So, I was persuaded to buy a Subaru. They were, after all, a 'reliable' car, had great gas mileage, and had front-wheel drive, which was essential to driving through snow (or so I was told), and the insurance premium was lower. I bought it, at first somewhat reluctantly, but that car was in fact reliable and rarely had a problem.

Of course, when I read about Subaru's new charity campaign, I felt obligated to share it. After all, my Subaru got me through bad snow storms, saved me lots of money compared to the fancy sports car, and I had it for many years.

Subaru's new "Share the Love" campaign, is running through January 2nd, and lets new-vehicle customers select one of five charities to receive a $250 donation from Subaru of America, following the purchase or lease of a new Subaru vehicle. How great is that. Sure it's a way to influence the buyer's decision, sure they probably want to move 2008 cars off the lot by year's end, but it's not like Subaru is just in it for the grab. They have a history of being very community-minded company. But, I do have to be honest, I thought the title of this campaign was better suited for VW Beetle... the "Love Bug"... get it? You can read more about the campaign here.



Monday, December 1, 2008

Top 50 Givers of 2008

You gotta love these year-end lists. They really do intrigue us, don't they?! The lists are ever where at this time of the year and we hear and read about in People Magazine, GQ, Entertainment Tonight, Fast Company, Forbes and the list goes on....

Well, here is a list worth 'giving' out (pun is completely intended!) Business Week, The Top 50 Philanthropists for 2008 was posted on Yahoo last week. Among them was Warren Buffett who led the group, followed by Bill and Melinda Gates, William Barron Hilton, Veronica Atkins (wife of the late Dr. Atkins) the Walton Family, Shelby White, Herbert and Marion Sandler, Oprah Winfrey, Peter Peterson, and Michael Bloomberg. All of these donors give through family foundations. Seven of these individuals gave more than $200M and nine more gave more than $100M.

Now, I realize that big dollars can translate into big impact and giving that amount is unfathomable to most Americans. The article also points out that these philanthropists, much like everyone else, have felt the economic downturn. You can read the article here.