Vote for Build-a-Block: $50,000 from Pepsi Refresh Challenge

To text your vote: Text 106358 to 73774

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 3, 2011

Baltimore, MD—Starting today and continuing every day through 11:59 p.m. on May 31, 2011, go to the Pepsi Refresh Project website—www.refresheverything.com/buildablock—and vote for Build A Block. (You can also text your vote: send to 73774 and use 106358 in your message.)
The 16-school Build A Block coalition, of which Friends is a member, is vying for one of ten $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grants to help them reach their goal of raising $300,000—the approximate cost of rebuilding six blighted homes on the 2400 block of Jefferson Street in East Baltimore. (The multi-year goal for the Build-A-Block coalition is for the students to completely fund and rehabilitate 24 houses on that block.)

“The goal is to win the $50,000 by going ‘viral’ through e-mail, social media, and texting,” says Michael Paulson, Friends’ Habitat for Humanity club advisor. “The more people we can get to register and vote daily for Build-A-Block, the greater our chances of improving a Baltimore neighborhood.”

Participation in the month-long challenge is easy: just register at Pepsi Refresh Project and then vote daily. If all goes according to plan, the student leaders with Habitat for Humanity will be joined by thousands of their peers, family members, teachers and neighbors in a month-long, technology-driven “get out the vote” campaign to ensure that Build A Block secures one of ten $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grants. Pepsi Refresh is awarding the grants based on the number of votes cast.

Pepsi drinkers have an additional way to support Build A Block’s Pepsi Refresh campaign. Look for a unique ten-character alpha-numeric code printed underneath specially-marked 2-liter and 20 oz. bottle caps, and on the reverse side of specially-marked 12-pack and 24-pack carton wraps of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi Max products. Enter the code on the Power Vote link on www.refresheverything.com/buildablock to learn how many Power Votes your code is worth—each code is worth anywhere from five to 100 additional votes.

Friends, along with Park School, is a charter member of the 16-school Build A Block Coalition. Other members include: Baltimore City College High School, Bryn Mawr School, Calvert Hall College High School, Carver Vocational Technical High School, Dulaney High School, Edmondson Vocational Technical High School, Hereford High School, Independent School I, Jemicy School, McDonogh School, Mercy High School, Mergenthaler Vocational Technical School, REACH!, and Roland Park Country School. In addition to fundraising, the student leaders participate in supervised on-site construction and advocacy work on behalf of Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake works with people of all faiths and backgrounds to provide simple, decent, affordable homes for families in Anne Arundel County and the Baltimore region. Working together, partner families, volunteers, and staff have built more than 285 houses toward the goal of revitalizing neighborhoods as we pursue our vision and mission to eliminate poverty housing in the region.

 

Now in its 226th year, Friends School of Baltimore is an independent, college preparatory school for boys and girls age four through grade 12. Rooted in the enduring values of the Quakers, the School is committed to providing a balanced education and developing in each student a vigorous intellect and the habits of a peaceful heart.