Go Organically® Fruit Snacks Announces Winning School of Brand-Led Literacy Program

ALLENDALE, N.J., Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Go Organically® Fruit Snacks announces Woodbine Elementary School in Sacramento as the recipient of a $5,000 donation from the Go Organically® Gives Back Literacy Program, a national initiative led by the organic fruit snack brand in partnership with First Book, to encourage children's literacy. In addition to the donation made to Woodbine Elementary School, 50 schools across the country received funding to support literacy education.

With many of Woodbine Elementary School's funds being allocated towards lunch subsidies for students, educators at the school requested additional financial support to invest in educational programming. The school will be using the donation for a "Backpack Reading Program" in which each classroom will be outfitted with books for use both at home and in school to promote literacy and education throughout the year.

The Go Organically® Gives Back Literacy Program started on National Book Lovers Day (August 9) in partnership with First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise focused on equal access to quality education for kids in need. Consumers had the opportunity to vote for one of the five finalist schools to receive the $5,000 donation. The five finalists included:

• Woodbine Elementary School in Sacramento, California
• Higginson-Lewis K-8 School in Boston, Massachusetts
• Gordon J. Lau Elementary School in San Francisco, California
• Math and Science Leadership Academy in Denver, Colorado
• William Walker Elementary in Portland, Oregon

Finalists were chosen by Go Organically® Fruit Snacks and First Book based on current needs and identification of where the biggest impact could be made in local scholastic communities. When choosing a charitable partner for the program, Go Organically® looked for an organization that shared their brand values of supporting children's success and education, and found a perfect fit in First Book. This is the first year the two organizations have teamed up and the partnership has proven to be a great success.

"We're excited to provide local schools with the supplies they need for the upcoming school year through our Go Organically® Gives Back Literacy Program," shared Josh Shapiro, Senior Vice President of Marketing for The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc. "We're extremely grateful for our partnership with First Book as they have provided us the opportunity to reach more schools, students, and teachers than we could have imagined. We believe this is just the start for Go Organically® in giving back to local communities."

"First Book is committed to making sure that all kids, no matter where they go to school, have access to the best books and educational resources available," said Georgia Gillette, Vice President for Strategic Alliances at First Book. "We are so grateful to Go Organically® for this partnership, and the opportunity to distribute books and resources where they are needed most, and to get kids excited about reading and learning."

Consumers who voted had the chance to win a variety of prizes (e-reader, beanbag chair, Go Organically® Fruit Snacks, and more). Additionally, 50 votes, chosen at random, unlocked 50 "Book Wishes" from schools across the nation. "Book Wish" is a program within First Book that allows educators and community members to post various wishes that they need for their classroom (supplies, backpacks, books, etc.). Go Organically® granted $100 to each of these schools who received a "Book Wish" in which they will be able to purchase school supplies and books at a wholesale price.

Go Organically® Fruit Snacks' mission is to give back to the community through various charitable programs that help improve children's lives.

For more information on Go Organically Fruit Snacks, please visit https://goorganicallysnacks.com.

About Farmer's Choice Food Brands

Farmer's Choice Food Brands, maker of Go Organically® Fruit Snacks, is a label of The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc., one of North America's premier makers of fruit snacks and other snacks and the makers of Welch's® Fruit Snacks, the #1 fruit snacks brand in the USA. Ranked as #54 on Candy Industry Magazine's "Global Top 100" confectionery companies in the world, PIM has also been named as one of the fastest growing Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies in the U.S. by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) four times in the past six years. PIM is also ranked by Crain's Business as one of the New York metro area's 100 largest privately-owned companies, and by NJBIZ as one of the State's 50 largest privately held employers.

Millions of times each day across the world, consumers enjoy PIM's vast array of loved brands including: Welch's® Fruit Snacks, Welch's® Fruit 'n Yogurt™ Snacks, Welch's® Fruit Rolls, Go Organically® Fruit Snacks, Sun-Maid® Milk Chocolate Raisins, Toggi® Fine European Chocolate Wafers, Tuxedos® Chocolate Almonds, Sour Jacks® Sour Candies, Nuclear Sqworms® Sour Neon Gummi Worms, Original Gummi Factory® Brand Gummi Candies, Original Gummi FunMix® and more. PIM's subsidiaries and affiliates include Promotion In Motion Canada, Inc., Grupo de Alimentación Promoción en Moción México, S. de R.L. de C.V., Grupo de Alimentación Promotion In Motion Iberica, S.L., Promotion In Motion UK, Ltd., Farmer's Choice Food Brands, PIM Brands LLC and Pharma In Motion, LLC, makers of supplements, neutraceuticals and OTC pharmaceutical products and ingredients. For additional information, please visit www.promotioninmotion.com.

About First Book

First Book transforms the lives of children in need. Through a sustainable, market-driven model, First Book is creating equal access to quality education — making everything from brand-new, high-quality books and educational resources, to sports equipment, winter coats, snacks, and more – affordable to its member network of more than 375,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need. Since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 175 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families in more than 30 countries. First Book currently reaches an average of 5 million children every year and supports more than one in three of the estimated 1.3 million classrooms and programs serving children in need. With an additional 1,000 educators joining each week, First Book is the largest and fastest-growing network of educators in the United States exclusively serving kids in need.

SOURCE Go Organically Fruit Snacks

Related Links

https://goorganicallysnacks.com