NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - December 8, 2010) - New York-based social marketing agency Mr Youth is taking its charitable efforts to a new level this holiday season with Youth4Youth, a special fundraising initiative benefiting youth education. Teaming up with Pencils of Promise, a non-profit that works with developing communities to build schools, the goal of Youth4Youth is to raise $25,000, which would fund both the creation and three-year maintenance of a preschool in the village of Pa Suk, Laos in Southeast Asia. To make Youth4Youth a success, Mr Youth will leverage its social media expertise and agency-wide social networks, proving that social media can also create social good.
"Here at Mr Youth we are lucky to do what we do, and we are all privileged to have received the education, support and mentorship that got us here," said Matt Britton, CEO of Mr Youth. "This holiday season, our friends, family and clients will help us engage on a larger global scale to empower the next generation of young minds. Furthermore, we're finding a way to use our talents as an agency to make a positive impact on the global community. With Youth4Youth, we're exercising the same diligence, creativity and social networking expertise we deliver for our clients to make a real difference in the lives of the Pa Suk youth."
Forgoing the corporate tradition of sending holiday gifts to clients, Mr Youth believes that Youth4Youth is the best present for its clients and staff. The agency has committed to a dollar-for-dollar match up to the first $10,000 raised, and has asked clients, vendors, suppliers and partners to provide donations to the initiative in lieu of any gifts they planned on sending the agency. Mr Youth's clients have already shown their support for Youth4Youth, donating computers, software and other supplies to help provide the Pa Suk school with the best resources available.
Mr Youth has made giving back an important part of the company's DNA since its founding in 2002. Throughout the years, Mr Youth has engaged in a variety of local community and global efforts with various charities. Last year, the agency gave a holiday gift in the form of water by building a well in Ethiopia with charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.
"From painting local schools and hosting youth mentor programs, to working in our neighborhood soup kitchen -- these philanthropic values are an engrained part of the business model at Mr Youth and are fueled by our growing team of Millennials and young leaders," said Doug Akin, chief engagement officer of Mr Youth.
Mr Youth will be raising money for Youth4Youth through the end of the year with the school scheduled for completion by early 2011. For more information about the Pa Suk school plans, please visit http://pencilsofpromise.mryouth.com/.
ABOUT MR YOUTH
New York-based Mr Youth is a social marketing agency that was founded in 2002 as the antidote to traditional media burnout. Since then, Mr Youth has worked with some of the world's leading brands -- including MSN, P&G, Crayola, Ford and HP -- to help them connect with the rapidly evolving consumer by developing strategies and campaigns centered around word-of-mouth, social interactive and experiential marketing.
Mr Youth's RepNation, the leading word of mouth network of 125,000+ savvy consumers, provides marketers a direct channel to conceive ideas, market with, and gain insights from their own consumers. Mr Youth was recently ranked 7th among Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies in Advertising and Marketing" and in 2009 was named "Social Media Agency of the Year" by Mashable's Open Web Awards. For more information, visit www.mryouth.com.