FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Volvo Drive for life Days Wins Cause Related Campaign of the Year
IRVINE, Calif., March 8, 2005 – Volvo Cars of North America won the Cause Related Campaign of the Year at the 2005 PRWeek Awards for its Volvo Drive for life Days initiative, a three-day promotional event 300 Volvo retailers held last year to raise funds for local charities.
Held in New York, the 2005 PR Week Awards honors the most outstanding communications initiatives over the past year in a variety of categories.
Integrating public relations, grassroots communications, advertising, sales and marketing and featuring the direct participation of nearly every Volvo employee, Volvo Drive for life Days was inspired by Alexandra Scott, a young girl from Philadelphia with an aggressive childhood cancer. Though life dealt Alex the most bitter of lemons, she had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for pediatric cancer research by conducting annual lemonade stands. In 2003, Volvo named her one of America’s greatest hometown heroes in its annual hero recognition program, the Volvo for life Awards.
In June 2004, Alex, at age eight, set a goal of raising $1 million through lemonade stands across the nation by the end of the year. Sadly, she died Aug. 1, having raised $700,000. Before Alex passed away, Volvo promised to help Alex’s family reach her goal through an initiative the company named Volvo Drive for life Days.
More than 300 of Volvo’s 350 retailers participated in the program, selling thousands of cups of lemonade Oct. 9-11 to help reach Alex’s goal. And, in honor of Alex’s giving spirit, for every test drive taken during that time period, retailers donated at least $10 to a local charity.
Volvo Drive for life Days reached people in hundreds of local communities across the nation and generated more than 100 million media impressions. The retailers’ effort surpassed Alex’s million-dollar goal and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for nearly 100 local charities, making it the largest-ever community relations event in the company’s near 50-year U.S. history.
The Cause Related Campaign of the Year is the second PRWeek Award and ninth national communications award Volvo has won in the past three years.
Contact:
Sören Johansson,
Volvo Cars of North America,
949-341-6719,
sjohan44@volvocars.com
