Timberland has taken its volunteerism roots to another level by teaming with CrowdRise, the fundraising social network founded by actor and philanthropist Ed Norton, to launch a new version of its long-running Serv-a-Palooza Challenge. The Stratham, NH, company, which surpassed one million hours of community service in April, wants to get started on its next million–and motivate the public to get out and help, too. By partnering with CrowdRise, the brand can broaden its charitable reach. “If one company can achieve one million hours, imagine what its consumers could do,” says Atlanta McIlwraith, senior manager of community engagement at Timberland.
The six-week endeavor, which kicked off on Aug. 11 and runs through Sept. 18, encourages consumers to volunteer for a cause of their choice for chances to win prizes for themselves as well as donations for the non-profit organizations they choose to support. Anyone wishing to enroll can submit his or her name, location and designated service partner to the Timberland Serv-a-Palooza homepage. Approved volunteers will then be sent a link to create a fundraising page on CrowdRise where they can track their efforts and start earning rewards for the hours they serve, donors they recruit and money they raise. “Our hope is that those who participate will continue to volunteer after the challenge, and feel empowered to encourage others to do the same,” McIlwraith says.
At the culmination of the challenge, Timberland will award grand prizes to the Top Recruiter, Top Volunteer and Top Fundraiser. The winners will each receive a $10,000 grant to give to the causes they chose to support, along with a $5,000 Timberland shopping spree (or an all-expenses-paid trip to the Horqin Desert to help plant the company’s two-millionth tree in China), a custom pair of boots and the chance to have their Impact Maker stories shared in an online Timberland campaign. Additionally, the top volunteer will have his volunteer hours matched by Timberland employees in New England.
