April 18: Kevin Bacon Celebrity Panel To Pick Winners of UMD 'Do Good' Challenge

'American Idol'-Style Meet Pits Six Student Philanthropy Finalists

WHAT:

	Kevin Bacon Wants You, Terps

Actor Kevin Bacon, TODAY Show nutrition expert Joy Bauer ('86), and former Terp Head Basketball Coach Gary Williams ('68) will judge the final round of the University of Maryland Do Good Challenge, in which students compete to benefit charitable causes.

The American Idol-style competition will select from six finalist student teams that have raised significant amounts of money for a charitable cause - some international in scope - or made tangible contributions on its behalf. Thousands of dollars in awards are at stake. See competition background below.

WHEN:

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, from 6:30 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Grand Ballroom, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park 20742
Directions: http://ter.ps/e0
Parking: http://ter.ps/e1

COMPETITION BACKGROUND:

The Do Good Challenge is a unique college charity competition that marries American Idol with philanthropy and entrepreneurship. Actor Kevin Bacon kicked off the competition in February, challenging students to "do good" and creatively use social media to impact social change. Students could raise awareness, fundraise or organize a volunteer event - anything to further their cause. As Bacon said in his challenge, "It's a small world, and it's easier to do good than you may think. I want to see how you can use your creativity to encourage social change."

The over 100 participating student teams have now been narrowed to six finalists, and on April 18, Bacon will come to the UMD campus as part of an American Idol-style celebrity panel judging which team deserves to win $5,000 and other prizes.

Each finalist will have six minutes to pitch their effort and why they deserve to win the challenge. As on the TV show, audience members will vote along with the judges.

The competition is run by the UMD School of Public Policy Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership in partnership with Bacon's charity fundraising organization SixDegrees.org; the Motorola Mobility Foundation, which is providing the $5,000 grant funding and other prizes as a part of its strategic effort to foster innovation and forge strong community partnerships; Network for Good; the Center for Social Value Creation at UMD's Robert H. Smith School of Business; the College Park Foundation Colonnade Society; and Freed Photography.

The six finalists, chosen from among the more than 100 student teams participating are:

• The Food Recovery Network - Student group that collects uneaten food from events and eateries around the UMD campus for local homeless shelters.
  
• Leave One Take One - A growing national online network swapping skilled services in exchange for used goods.
  
• Students Helping Honduras - A group of UMD students who began building an elementary school in a Honduran village early this year, and now is raising $25,000 to finish the job.
  
• Men's Hockey/VetDogs - A collaboration between the Terp Men's Hockey team and a wounded vets' hockey team raising money for Vet Dogs - a program that provides specially trained guide animals to assist wounded vets.
  
• Muscular Dystrophy Center of Kavre, Nepal - A campaign to raise money and awareness for a muscular dystrophy treatment center in Nepal.
  
• Zeta Tau Alpha - Breast Cancer - An extensive on-campus breast cancer awareness campaign by a UMD sorority pegged to the number 1,688 - the number of current UMD students expected to develop the disease.

More details on the teams below.

MEDIA:

Media coverage is welcome.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jennifer Talhelm
School of Public Policy Communications Director
University of Maryland
301-405-4390
jtalhelm@umd.edu

STUDENT TEAM FINALISTS:

Food Recovery Network
Inspired to address the dual issues of food waste and hunger, students founded The Food Recovery Network (FRN). This is a network of student groups and individuals that recover surplus food from the UMD campus and donate it to hungry men, women, and children at local shelters. The Do Good Challenge inspired FRN to increase its capacity and step up its efforts. The group collected food from on-campus catered events, all the men's and women's basketball games, and weekday meals at the South Campus Diner and the 251 North buffet. During the competition period, FRN recovered approximately 6,700 meals, which, at $4 per meal, is the equivalent of raising $26,800. During the challenge, the group also raised over $5,000 from grants, pitch competitions, and donations. FRN will use this money to purchase a commercial refrigerator, enabling it to recover food daily from about 25 more locations around campus, which should ultimately double its impact - from collecting 30,000 meals per year to about 60,000 meals per year. FRN also recruited two other college campuses to adopt its food recovery model during the Do Good Challenge period.

Leave One Take One
Founded during the Do Good Challenge and initiated as a one-week assignment for a social-networking course in which the professor asked her students to try to start a project that could compete in the challenge, Leave One Take One is an online forum where participants are encouraged to post items, skills and services they are willing to trade. For the exchange of an old bookcase or MP3 player, users can offer a basic logo design for a startup company, learn how to knit, or have someone consult them on maintaining a healthy diet. With over 1,500 members, Leave One Take One has already begun making waves. Leave One Take One is a collective movement that relies on both connectivity and cooperation. The founder of Leave One Take One says the concept relies on people's common interest in helping others while helping themselves, providing a harmonious network that is mutually beneficial to the gift giver and the recipient. It goes beyond impersonal exchange to support collaborative synergy.

Men's Hockey/VetDogs
To benefit America's VetDogs, the University of Maryland Men's Hockey Team worked with USA Warriors, an ice hockey team comprised of wounded and disabled veterans who play for mental and physical therapy. America's VetDogs is a charitable organization that trains service dogs for veterans returning from combat with debilitating injuries. It allows veterans who could not otherwise live independently to maintain their independence and enjoy a better quality of life. Inspired by the Do Good Challenge, the athletes hosted an ice hockey game between the Maryland team and the USA Warriors team with the proceeds going to America's VetDogs. They generated money for their cause through ticket sales, donations, food sales and through a silent auction. The Men's Hockey team also worked to raise awareness about challenges facing Americas wounded veterans - and of the fundraising project - through Facebook, word of mouth, emails, posters, ticket sales, donations, food sales, and SixDegrees.org. The silent auction and raffle raised a total of $12,020.61. This event is only the beginning of the relationship between the UMD team, the USA Warriors, and America's VetDogs. They are working on another event for the fall, have maintained their Facebook page, and created a Twitter and a Tumblr to help promote America's VetDogs.

Muscular Dystrophy Center of Kavre, Nepal
Working with the Muscular Dystrophy Center of Kavre, Nepal, a group of students was motivated by the Do Good Challenge to create an awareness campaign and fundraiser called Distance for MD Nepal, aimed at raising money for the center (where the founder's younger brother has been volunteering since late September 2011) and increasing awareness about Muscular Dystrophy treatment in developing countries. The student pledged to run as far as he could on one day in March and asked people to support him by donating a certain amount of money per mile. The group raised awareness for the fundraiser and the cause through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and SixDegrees.org. The student and his team made two videos that were posted on Facebook, YouTube, and SixDegrees.org, and wore Distance for MD Nepal signs around campus. The student ultimately ran 21 miles on March 8, raising a total of $1,000, which the student and team members initially hoped would pay to continue treatment for two boys currently living at the Muscular Dystrophy Center of Kavre. Distance for MD Nepal was thrilled to find out recently that this $1,000 will not only pay for the two children currently at the center, but will allow them to bring another child to the center full-time.

Students Helping Honduras
In January, 2012, a group of Maryland students traveled to Pimientera, Honduras on an eight-day service trip. Over these eight days, they intended to build a school for the 80 elementary school-aged children who lived in the village. They were able to build the foundation but didn't have the funding to finish the construction. What started with a service trip to a small village in Honduras has since turned into a passionate campaign to raise $25,000 so that the school can be finished and the children of Pimientera can gain the basic right of education. During the Do Good Challenge, Students Helping Honduras inspired over 120 people to donate via its online fundraising site for Pimientera, and the members have met weekly to plan events to raise funds on their own. Their fundraising events have ranged from late-night food sales to selling tickets to D.C. dance clubs, and will include an upcoming 5k race. To date, the students have raised over $7,000 for the village, and have vowed not to stop until the children in Pimientera have a school.

Zeta Tau Alpha - Breast Cancer
The Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) sorority at Maryland took up Kevin Bacon's challenge and worked to increase breast cancer awareness and education through a series of university events. The sorority launched a strong social media and visual campaign centered on the number 1,688 - the number of current UMD female undergraduate students predicted to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. The students publicized awareness goals, such as reaching 1,688 likes on Facebook and 168 likes on Twitter, handing out 1,688 pink breast cancer awareness ribbons, and chalking this number as they "Painted the Campus Pink" on March 11 and 12. They surpassed these goals, reaching as many as 890,000 Facebook viewers. Their team project culminated with a March 14 event on McKeldin Mall, headlined by University of Maryland Chief of Surgical Oncology and General Surgery, Dr. John Olson, and attended by over 250 people, who wrote messages or the name of someone who had been affected by breast cancer on 500 balloons that were ceremonially released. They used social media to spread their message, accumulating over 1,700 Facebook followers and nearly 45,000 views. ESPN sportscaster and fellow ZTAer Erin Andrews also re-tweeted the message to her 1.2 million followers.

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