Cabot© Creamery Cooperative Announces Reward Volunteers 4.0 Grand Prize Winners

CABOT, Vt., Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for Valentine's Day, Cabot Creamery Cooperative - the New England and upstate New York farm-family owned dairy cooperative widely known as the maker's of the "World's Best Cheddar" - is announcing the Grand Prize winners of Reward Volunteers 4.0. One deserving non-profit organization will be awarded $5,000 in cash, and other volunteers will be treated to vacation packages, gift cards, gift baskets featuring Cabot cheddar, and other prizes.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120213/MM52737LOGO )

"Reward Volunteers 4.0 participants showed their communities love by donating more than 30,000 volunteer hours," says Jen Neary, Cabot Director of Marketing & Integrated Services, "and Cabot is returning the love with some amazing prizes. Nearly 6,000 acts of kindness were registered by hundreds of users since the fourth phase of the program kicked off on August 14, 2013. We are so grateful to everyone who participated, and wish to sincerely thank and congratulate them for their generous gifts of time."

Since the program's inception in February 2012, more than 155,000 volunteer hours have been registered. Cabot will continue to support altruistic individuals and their volunteer organizations in 2014 with Reward Volunteers 5.0, a year-long program launching in time for National Volunteer Week in April.

The revolutionary Reward Volunteers iPhone App and web widget from Cabot Creamery Cooperative enables individuals and organizations to track the time they spend volunteering in their communities. At the end of each month, Cabot rewards them for their hard work, and for inspiring friends and family to do the same, with a variety of prizes. The more hours volunteers log, the more chances they have to win, both for themselves and the organizations they serve.

In addition to the $5,000 prize awarded to the DFW Wildlife Coalition based in Richardson, Texas, Jay Breneman of St. Erie, Pennsylvania will be awarded $1,500 in cash for his volunteer efforts with 9/11 Day. The Grand Prize recipient is Jake Smith of Little Rock, Arkansas, who serves as the Student Director of the UAMS 12^th Street Health & Wellness Center, and will receive a 4-Season Weekend Getaway for Two at four different New England resorts: Trapp Family Lodge; Mountain Club at Loon; Higgins Beach Inn; and Nonantum Resort.

"Thank you, Reward Volunteers, from the wild volunteers at DFW Wildlife Coalition," says Kathy Milacek, the DFW Wildlife Coalition's Co-Founder and Director. "The $5,000 prize is nearly an entire year's operating costs for us. This makes a huge difference to a very small, all-volunteer operated non-profit such as ours. As a wildlife hotline, our volunteers help save more than 10,000 wild lives each year by directing callers to appropriate solutions. Our wildlife, including our native Texas opossums, say a big thank you, too!"

"I found out about the Reward Volunteers app after volunteering with The Mission Continues on the 9/11 National Day of Service," says Linda Blacken, a volunteer for New York Cares, and winner of the Escobar Inn Vacation and NCGA $100 Gift Card. "I looked forward to having a single location into which I could consolidate and easily keep track of my volunteer efforts. And the social media integration provides not only visibility that could encourage others to volunteer but also an opportunity for nonprofits to benefit from Reach points. There are a million experiences that have warmed my heart and that I never would have had were it not for the volunteer opportunities New York Cares provides. I encourage anyone who lives in or near NYC to join New York Cares and start logging their hours in the Reward Volunteers app!"

Phase 4 rewarded volunteers with dozens of incredible prizes, including:

• Thousands of dollars in cash prizes for individuals and organizations, including Grand Prizes of $5,000 for one non-profit and $1,500 for one individual
• A 4-season weekend getaway for two (includes stays at Trapp Family Lodge, The Mountain Club on Loon, Higgins Beach Inn, The Nonantum Resort)
• Farm vacations to Liberty Hill Farm, Couture's Farm, Emergo Farms, Mountain View Inn, Escobar's Inn, and Sprout Creek Farm
• Family ski vacation to Smugglers Notch
• King Arthur Flour, National Cooperative Grocers Association, and Dakin Farm Gift Cards
• Danforth Mariner Pewter Oils Lamps
• Cabot Farm Family Gift Baskets and Cabot Cheddar Gift Packs
• Keurig Coffee Machines and a year's supply of Green Mountain Coffee
• Dansko Shoes
• Vermont Teddy Bear
• Thorncrest Milk House Chocolates
• Wheeler Woven Scarves

For a complete list of Reward Volunteers 4.0 prizes, visit rewardvolunteers.coop/prizes.php.

Reward Volunteers was conceived and created by Cabot Creamery Cooperative, and is sponsored by AARP Create the Good, All for Good, Marriott, Co+op Stronger Together, Hope for Women, Points of Light, and Volunteer Spot.

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS
4 Season Weekend Getaway for Two – Trapp Family Lodge, Mountain Club on Loon, Higgins Beach Inn, Nonantum Resort
Jake S., AR – UAMS 12^th Street Health & Wellness Center

$5,000 for Non-Profit Organization
DFW Wildlife Coalition

$1,500 & Farm Families Gift Basket
Jay B., CA – 9/11 Day Observance

Liberty Hill Farm Vacation & $100 Dakin Farm Gift Card
Gail D., MD – Rebuilding Together Baltimore

Sprout Creek Farm Vacation, Karen Wheeler Scarf, & VT Teddy Bear
Kristofer S., NY – Ticonderoga Volunteer Fire Company

$75 Gift Basket, Karen Wheeler Scarf, & VT Teddy Bear
Beth R., IL – Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary

Couture Farm Vacation, Farm Families Gift Basket, Thorncrest Milk House Chocolates
Sally H., AL – Community Actors' Studio Theater

Smugglers Notch Vacation, Farm Families Gift Basket, Thorncrest Milk House Chocolates
Monica T., FL – American Cancer Society Relay for Life

Farm Families Grand Prize Gift Basket & Thorncrest Milk House Chocolates
Eric M., VA – Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department

Escobar Inn Vacation & $100 National Cooperatives Grocers Association Gift Card
Linda B., NJ – New York Cares

Danforth Pewter Mariner Lamp, Hager Farm New England Gift Box, Landaff Creamery Cheese, & VT Teddy Bear
Lela G., NV – American Red Cross

A complete list of the organizations benefiting from the Reward Volunteers can be accessed at: http://www.cabotcheese.coop/orgs.html

ABOUT CABOT CREAMERY COOPERATIVE
Cabot Creamery Cooperative has been in continuous operation in Vermont since 1919, and makes a full line of cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and butter. Widely known as makers of "The World's Best Cheddar," Cabot is owned by the 1200 dairy farm families of Agri-Mark, the Northeast's premier dairy cooperative, with farms located throughout New England and upstate New York. For more information on Cabot, visit: http://www.cabotcheese.coop.

Cabot Creamery Cooperative is the world's first cheese maker and dairy cooperative to achieve B Corporation Certification, a validation of its attention to environmental and social impacts on stakeholders.

Contact: Bob Schiers
1.888.214.9444 or [email protected]

SOURCE Cabot Creamery Cooperative