Zespri Kiwifruit is launching its second annual Kiwifruit for Kids campaign in the US today (Monday 10 September), according to a news statement from the group.
The campaign, which Zespri claims enjoyed huge success last year, has chosen six children’s health charities to represent the six regions of the US and help raise awareness of childhood obesity.
Those charities include: Treeswing, Chicago Run, I Can Foundation, Play Rugby USA, Louie's Kids, and Live Well Colorado.
Each charity’s mission is aligned with Zespri’s Kiwifruit for Kids campaign objective – to educate the youth in the US about how to eat well and live active lifestyles.
Supermarkets across the US will also be helping spread the word about the Kiwifruit for Kids campaign.
With point-of-sale signage and staff well-trained about the message of the campaign, Zespri said supermarkets will be doing their part to encourage children in their own communities to eat well and be active.
“We are delighted to be opening Kiwifruit for Kids 2012 with a bang,” said Margaux Rathbun, Kiwifruit for Kids spokesperson and certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
“We have a great list of competing charities who all really embody the message that Zespri Kiwifruit is trying to proliferate. Given that September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, this is the perfect time to send that message home.”
The campaign asks people to earn points for the charity and/or region of their choice by answering health trivia questions, exercising their kiwifruit characters daily, checking in to participating supermarkets via Facebook, exercising for an hour per day, and more.
The charity that earns the most points by the end of the campaign on Sunday 21 October wins US$10,000 from Zespri; second place winner receives US$5,000 and the remaining 4 charities win US$1,500 just for playing.
The initiative is now live on both Zespri’s Facebook page and the company’s micro-site.
Zespri is the world’s largest kiwifruit marketer, with over 2,500 growers producing and exporting more than 100m trays of kiwifruit a year to over 60 countries.
