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about uspress roomWEIGHT WATCHERS MEMBERS AND ONLINE SUBSCRIBERS LOSE AN
ESTIMATED 4 MILLION POUNDS IN SIX WEEK PERIOD
The Lose For Good™ Campaign Reaches $1 Million Dollar Donation Goal
and Collects1.5 Million Pounds of Food for Food Banks in Need |
November 24, 2008 (New York, NY) --- Weight Watchers (WTW) is pleased to announce the donation of one million dollars to two hunger fighting organizations – Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger. The donation was made possible by the success of Weight Watchers Members and Weight Watchers Online Subscribers during Lose For Good™, a six week campaign that ran from September 7, 2008 to October 18, 2008 in an effort to empower people to get healthier while also giving back to others in need. In addition, during the campaign, Weight Watchers staff voluntarily organized food drives at over 2,050 locations coast to coast, donating an estimated 1.5 million pounds of food to local food banks.
The campaign’s goal was simple: for every pound of weight lost by Weight Watchers Members and Online Subscribers during the six week period, Weight Watchers would donate the equivalent of one pound of food, up to one million dollars, to help enhance the efforts at Share Our Strength, which works to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry and Action Against Hunger, which brings immediate and long term solutions for hunger to populations around the world.
“As we began to plan this initiative, we felt it was a way to motivate our members while simultaneously benefiting the community,” said David Kirchhoff, President and CEO Weight Watchers International, Inc. “As the economy began to weaken, food banks suffered with a decrease in donations and an increase in demand. We now know that Lose For Good was more than just an initiative, it became a call to action that could not be ignored, and we are proud to donate to these worthy organizations in time for the holiday season.”
One of the food banks that benefited from the food drive component of Lose For Good was able to immediately help those in need. “Last week it appeared we would have to close our Food Pantry until it was properly stocked. However, before we could, we received a call that a donation was on its way from a local Weight Watchers meeting center. When 1050 pounds of food arrived, it completely stocked the Food Pantry from top to bottom. This was truly an answer to our prayer! Instead of closing our doors on Thursday, we were able to bless 25 families with food,” said Jeannie O’Donnell, Church Administrator at The Sanctuary Food Bank at The Orlando Church of God.
Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director of Share Our Strength said, "We were excited to be a part of such a remarkable approach to fighting hunger. The results of the campaign truly illustrated the impact people can have when they come together for a cause. Everyone associated with the campaign can seek comfort in knowing that they played an active role in providing food for children throughout the upcoming holiday season.”
To learn more about the results from the Lose For Good campaign all around the country, visit www.loseforgood.com. |
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This holiday season, Weight Watchers encourages all Americans to make a small difference. To donate money to hunger fighting groups, visit Share Our Strength at www.strength.org and Action Against Hunger at www.actionagainsthunger.org. If you’d like to donate canned goods to a food bank near you, visit Feeding America at www.feedingamerica.org.About Weight Watchers International, Inc.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. is the world’s leading provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of Company-owned and franchise operations. Weight Watchers holds over 50,000 weekly meetings where members receive group support and learn about healthy eating patterns, behavior modification and physical activity. WeightWatchers.com provides innovative, subscription weight management products over the Internet and is the leading Internet-based weight management provider in the world. In addition, Weight Watchers offers a wide range of products, publications and programs for those interested in weight loss and weight control.To learn more about Weight Watchers services, products and publications,
visit www.weightwatchers.com. To find the nearest Weight Watchers meeting location,
call 1-800-651-6000 or click on the “Find a Meeting” link at the top of our homepage. |
About Share Our Strength®
Share Our Strength® is a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. We weave together a net of community groups, activists and food programs to catch children at risk of hunger and ensure they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. We work with the culinary industry to create engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation®, Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale® , Share Our Strength’s A Tasteful Pursuit®, Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out™, and Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline®. For more information, please visit www.strength.org.About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF), an international relief and development organization committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and families, provides sustainable access to safe water and long-term solutions to hunger. For nearly three decades, ACF has pursued its vision of a world without hunger by combating hunger in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity.
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