Think Young People Are Apathetic? Think Again. Nearly 99,000 Take Action With DoSomething.org and Toyota’s The Hunt
NEW YORK, October 30, 2014 /3BL Media/ - This summer, nearly 99,000 young people across the country took action on seven different causes through DoSomething.org and Toyota’s The Hunt.
From August 4 to August 10, DoSomething.org members received a challenge each day across seven causes including the environment, education, and physical and mental health. For the first time ever, the campaigns were created by DoSomething.org members aged 13-25.
Those that participated every day were entered to win one of two $10,000 scholarships and a chauffeured concert experience, courtesy of Toyota.
The first winner is Christopher Norvilus, 20 years old from Clermont, FL. Christopher is a first generation college student and a football player at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Due to his family’s financial situation, Chris was not expecting to return to school for the fall semester until he was surprised with a $10,000 scholarship from DoSomething.org and Toyota. Chris returned to school on a flight that same night and the scholarship was unveiled in a surprise event, captured on film by Prank It FWD at this link.
The second winner is Lauren Fitzgibbon, 20 years old from Los Angeles, CA. Lauren is a student at UCLA and is interesting in going into video production. DoSomething.org and Toyota surprised Lauren with a $10,000 scholarship and video camera to help capture the ways she’s making the world suck less.
The Hunt engaged young people to take on social change in their local communities and online, and resulted in:
- 8,942 de-stress tips for back-to-school shared with #SuperStressFace
- 114,974 pieces of trash picked up with Trash Scavenger Hunt
- 2,569 activity books created for children in hospitals with Patient Playbooks
- 10,071 young people highlighted ability over disability on social media with We Are Able
- 68,107 Band-Aids donated to homeless shelters with Band-Aid Brigade
- 13,544 pet safety flyers distributed with Hot Dogs
- 5,129 cards made for deployed soldiers with Smiles for Soldiers
Actor Nathan Kress of iCarly and this summer's Into the Storm was the face of the campaign's PSA video. In addition, Nathan encouraged his fans to get involved each day on Twitter, and participated himself in #SuperStressFace, Trash Scavenger Hunt, and Smiles for Soldiers.
“Our members really outdid themselves this year,” said Naomi Hirabayashi, chief marketing officer at DoSomething.org. “The Hunt is an amazing example of how passionate DoSomething.org members are about different causes.”
"Toyota believes that when good ideas are shared, great things happen. We are proud to have been a part of the Hunt and inspired to see the ripple effect of social good in communities across the country," said Latondra Newton, chief corporate social responsibility officer for Toyota Motor North America. "Congratulations to Chris, Lauren, and all of the young people who dedicated their summer vacation time to making an impact in their communities."
For more information about The Hunt, visit DoSomething.org/hunt.
DoSomething.org makes the world suck less. One of the largest orgs for young people and social change, our 3 million members tackle campaigns that impact every cause, from poverty to violence to the environment to literally everything else. Any cause, anytime, anywhere. *mic drop
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants and directly employ more than 40,000 people. Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to nonprofits in the U.S. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com/community.
Media Contacts
Colleen Wormsleycwormsley@dosomething.org
(212) 254-2390 ext. 254
