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StoneArch Creative gains 5,370 pounds!

December 22, 2011 | by Jessica Boden

Like many companies around the holidays, StoneArch Creative has a long-standing tradition of charitable giving. But with millions (give or take) of worthy causes to choose from, what’s a mid-size medical device and healthcare marketing agency to do?

Last year, we spread the cheer among five non-profits who had generated the greatest number of tweets in a given period. This year, we wanted to find a cause that aligned with our mission, involved the entire staff and most of all, helped meet a critical need. After several brainstorming sessions (the last of which ended in overruling the “no bad ideas” rule) and a fair amount of research, we landed on a concept that just made sense.

In response to the alarming increase in food-insecure households and foodshelf clients—as much as 40% since 2009—we developed the 5-Day Gain Campaign: Pounds with a Purpose. Between December 12 and December 16, our goal was to gain as much nonperishable food poundage as possible for the Emergency Foodshelf Network. And gain we did.

Teams of StoneArchers emptied grocery store shelves across the city, documenting shopping trips on smartphones and uploading them to 5-Day Gain’s YouTube channel. Donations arrived from North Memorial Hospital, the Rail Station Bar & Grill, Stanley’s Northeast Bar Room, Parents Choice for Kids and many others. Our weight gain results were tweeted to followers and posted on 5daygain.com. From individual servings of baby food to 50-pound bags of rice, the food just kept piling up. And up. By the end of Day 5, we had gained a shelf-breaking 5,370 pounds!

And with 1,000 hits on our YouTube channel—from France, Finland, the UK, Israel, as well as the U.S.—it warms our hearts to imagine that we could be making a small difference for people within and outside our community.