Cabot® Creamery Cooperative To 'Reward Volunteers' Again In 2013

CABOT, Vt., March 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a successful Phase Two launch of Reward Volunteers last August, Cabot Creamery- the New England and upstate New York farm-family owned dairy cooperative best known as "The Maker's of the World's Best Cheddar" - has expanded and re-launched Reward Volunteers 3.0. The program, a free computer widget and easy-to-use mobile app for iPhone, enables individuals and organizations to track the time they spend volunteering in their communities. Volunteers can use either the app or the widget to earn chances for rewards for their volunteer efforts, and inspire friends on Facebook to do the same.

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

"We kicked off the very first phase of Reward Volunteers back in February of last year, and the participation throughout has been excellent,"says Cabot Director of Marketing & Integrated Services, Jen Neary.  "In phases 1.0 and 2.0, volunteers from 47 states logged more than 71,000 hours at more than 1,300 organizations. Their efforts made a difference in the lives of countless individuals and communities, and inspired many of their Facebook friends to get involved. Now we are excited to announce our first round of prizes for Reward Volunteers 3.0, which got under way on January 28, 2013 with all new prizes."

Continued from Phase Two, participants can give the gift of time for someone they care about by sending a special Reward Volunteers 2.0 greeting card. The recipient will receive an email letting them know a friend or loved one has volunteered in their honor. 

"Reward Volunteers is easy and intuitive to use," Neary said. "Participants download the Reward Volunteers iPhone app or use the web widget to log activity and encourage friends to get involved by sharing on Facebook or via email. Phase Two also allows participants to take pictures using the iPhone app and share them on Facebook. The more hours users log for the organizations of their choice, the more Reach points they'll earn, which equals more opportunities for them and the organizations they serve to win cash and prizes. They can also earn Reach points by sharing their activity on Facebook or via email. The more "likes" and comments their posts receive, the more Reach points they earn."

Prizes are awarded each month, from February through June, with Grand Prizes being awarded in July. The list of amazing prizes include: cash for individuals and organizations; Liberty Hill Farm vacations; King Arthur Flour gift cards; National Cooperative Grocers Association gift cards; Keurig Coffee Machines with a year supply of Green Mountain Coffee; Cabot Cheddar Gift Baskets; Farm Family Gift Baskets; shoes from Dansko; and much more. Grand Prize Winners will receive big cash prizes, super-sized Cabot Farm Family Gift Baskets, Vermont Ski Passes, and fabulous vacation packages to Liberty Hill Farm, Couture Farm, Smugglers Notch, and Escobar's Inn. To see a full list of prizes, visit http://www.rewardvolunteers.coop/prizes.php.

"I love the Reward Volunteers app because it makes it so easy for me to track Volunteer hours, which is a requirement of our organization," says Debra Elliot, a Brown Elementary PTA volunteer and the winner of this month's $500 prize for a Reward Volunteers user. "Before Reward Volunteers I did my best to 'guess' my hours, but this is fantastic and I'm now encouraging everyone who volunteers for us to log using the app as well!"

This month's winning organization, the Palmyra Fire Company, will receive a $1,000 donation from Cabot. "We're very excited to be awarded the $1,000 prize from Cabot," said Palmyra Fire Company President Richard Dreby. "As a volunteer fire force, donations of this kind of are extremely helpful, and will be used to provide service to the citizens of Palmyra."

Reward Volunteers was conceived and created by Cabot Creamery Cooperative in collaboration with Chalo, Inc., a Vermont-based startup, and is sponsored by AARP Create the Good, All for Good, Marriott, Co+op Stronger Together, Hope for Women, Points of Light, Full Circle, and Volunteer Spot.

For more information on Rewards Volunteers 3.0, visit www.rewardvolunteers.coop

Reward Volunteers 3.0 Winners
$1,000 Prize for Non-Profit Organization
Palmyra Fire Department – New Jersey

$500 Prize for Reward Volunteers User
Debra Elliot, California – Brown Elementary PTA

Liberty Hill Farm Vacation
Megan L., Pennsylvania – Cinderella Project

NCGA $100 Gift Card
Arthur F., Alabama – New Hope Children's Clinic

Farm Families Basket (Freund Farm CowPots, Neighborly Farms of VT Cheese Variety Pack, Taylor Brothers Farm Maple Syrup)
Michelle M., New Jersey – Antler Ridge Wildlife Sanctuary

$75 Cabot Cheese Gift Basket
Beth R., Illinois – Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary

Sending Milk Books & Hope for Women Greeting Cards
Barbara H., Florida – Give Kids the World
Eric M., Virginia – Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department
Jeremy G., Wisconsin – USO of Wisconsin

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

NOTE TO EDITORS
To access the Reward Volunteers demo video, go to: http://www.rewardvolunteers.coop/individuals/watch-and-learn.php

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
(888) 214.9444 or [email protected]

SOURCE Cabot Creamery Cooperative