Reward Volunteers Mobile App Honors Volunteers & The Organizations They Serve

CABOT, Vt., Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Following three successful phases of Reward Volunteers, the popular iPhone App and web widget that allows volunteers to track and share the time they spend volunteering, then earn prizes for their selfless work, Cabot Creamery Cooperative is today launching phase four of the program. Appropriately dubbed Reward Volunteers 4.0, the first-of-its-kind app has been updated with a number of new features and enhancements, and will honor its participating volunteers with more prizes than ever before.

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

"While Cabot Creamery is most widely known as the makers of 'The World's Best Cheddar,' fewer know that it is a cooperative, owned by 1,200 dairy farm families throughout New England and Upstate New York," says Cabot President and CEO, Dr. Richard Stammer. "The spirit of volunteerism has always been strong within our farmers, who for nearly 100 years have been an integral part of the communities where they live and work. As firefighters or town council members, with local youth programs or church organizations, many of our farm family owners spend what little time they have outside their fields serving the needs of others. The goal of the Reward Volunteers program is to promote the virtues of volunteerism, therefore supporting the communities in which we live. By rewarding those who give selflessly to their communities, the program aims to encourage others to do the same."

Reward Volunteers initially launched on February 12, 2012, and has since recognized hundreds of volunteers. Between the program's inception, and the end of the third phase on July 14, 2013, 103,393 hours were logged by 1,969 volunteers, to the benefit of 1,984 organizations.

"We are proud to announce Reward Volunteers 4.0, which includes brand new features and enhancements to make it even easier for users to enter the time they spend volunteering in their communities," says Stammer. "With these new features, the app and web widget should be even more useful for volunteers."

Reward Volunteers 4.0 now includes All for Good integration, in collaboration with Points of Light, which manages postings of current and future volunteer opportunities, while at the same time allow volunteers to search for these opportunities by location. Other new features include updated Facebook integration, allowing participants to invite friends to the app via Facebook; 4-inch retina display support that utilizes the larger screens of the iPhone 5; and a tutorial that walks new users through their first post.

Since the program's inception on February 12, 2012, Reward Volunteers has given away hundreds of incredible prizes to well-deserving volunteers. The campaign is once again set to honor participating volunteers with some truly remarkable rewards, which will be announced at the end of each month throughout the program. These include:

• 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
• An all-expense-paid, six-day, seven-night, Caribbean cruise for two aboard the 2014 Cabot Community Celebrity Cruise – RV4.0 honoree to be announced in October
• A four-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, Smugglers Notch, Emergo Farms, Mountain View Inn, Escobar's Inn, and Sprout Creek Farm
• King Arthur Flour, National Cooperative Grocers Association, and Dakin Farm Gift Cards
• Danforth Mariner Pewter Oils Lamps
• Farm Families Gift Baskets and Cabot Cheddar Gift Packs
• Keurig Coffee Machines and a year's supply of Green Mountain Coffee
• Dansko Shoes

For a full 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.

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