The GreenShoots Foundation Launches with PSA Campaign Urging Arkansans to 'Please Consider Vaccination'

NEW YORK , April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arkansas native and NYC-based financial services veteran Ted Huffman and his wife, Cheryl Huffman, announce the launch of The GreenShoots Foundation, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to uplifting people across the social fabric of America.

The non-profit organization's inaugural call-to-action is a Covid-19 vaccine awareness PSA campaign focused on rural communities in Arkansas. The integrated campaign, conceived and brought to life by award-winning agency creative David Roofthooft and customer experience agency DEFINITION 6 (D6), includes TV, radio, OOH, digital, and social media.

The "Please Consider Vaccination" campaign marks the first of many initiatives The GreenShoots Foundation aims to advance, with shelter for the homeless, U.S. military veteran advocacy, and increased participation in the exercise of self-government being among the key items on its radar.

"Our credo is rooted in the principles of love and humility," states Ted Huffman. "We want to cultivate initiatives that are regarded as fundamentally human, such as faith, family, and fellowship."

The catalyst for the campaign occurred when Huffman saw a national news report from Arkansas Children's Hospital. The story revealed that cases among children were increasing, with severe infections requiring hospitalization, which wasn't the case with past variants. Meanwhile, the Delta variant was raging, particularly in areas where low vaccination rates existed, including Arkansas.

"My love for the State of Arkansas and its people has stayed with me along every step of my journey," remarks Ted Huffman. "These are the people who raised me and helped shape me into the person I am today. Covid-19's effects on our rural communities increasingly weighed on my heart, and eventually, this unrelenting force pushed me to do something."

Media outlets across Arkansas are donating airtime to broadcast the campaign's touching PSA about a father's journey overcoming vaccine hesitancy. After seeing his children off to school, he hops in his pick-up truck for a drive into town. From the farm to the church to the schoolyard, a moment of realization comes to bear at a crosswalk where a school guard is ushering students safely across the street. Reminded of his own children, his decision is revealed at a local vaccination clinic. "Let's do this," he says, before the spot fades to black with the tagline: "Life. Your Journey. Your Choice."

View "Life. Your Journey. Your Choice" at: https://vimeo.com/684005023

"Our hero's transformation is a journey, one that captures the same journey many of us are on," explains Ted Huffman. "The father's struggle with the decision to vaccinate is real. By welcoming people to experience his journey, hopefully, they find comfort in their own path to get vaccinated."

Going into the concepting phase of the campaign, two things were clear to the Huffmans: the issue of vaccination was becoming increasingly politically polarizing; and the medical realities were not moving the needle enough to overcome vaccine hesitancy in Arkansas.

"We felt that 'talking at people' had already been done, and that there must be a powerful reason why so many people across our nation were electing to not vaccinate," says Ted Huffman.

The Huffmans landed on a message they felt would resonate, leaning on two pillars: tradition and culture. "We kept falling back on our own upbringing in rural America," says Cheryl Huffman. "From our early days, tradition and culture have consistently united and guided our communities to higher ground."

They challenged DEFINITION 6 to create a PSA campaign that embraced these pillars through a visually-driven story with minimal dialogue.

"Ultimately, this campaign is a reflection and celebration of the people of Arkansas," says Ted Huffman. "Arkansans are giving, service-oriented, no-nonsense, smart, and loving people. Our mission was to reach out and connect with as many folks as possible, hoping that some would at least think about vaccination as a personal choice that's connected to values we hold close: family and community. We are eternally grateful to the Arkansas media outlets that have supported the campaign by donating airtime."

TV and radio stations in Arkansas wishing to air the PSA can download media assets here. Media in rural communities outside of Arkansas can download assets here.

About The GreenShoots Foundation
Founded in 2021 by Ted and Cheryl Huffman, The GreenShoots Foundation is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to uplifting people across the social fabric of America. An agricultural term describing the moment when a plant first breaks ground, the GreenShoots name symbolizes the renewal that springs forth after a period of winter, drought, or darkness.

www.thegreenshootsfoundation.org

SOURCE The GreenShoots Foundation