New York, NY – In order to further support its second annual Kiwifruit for Kids campaign, Zespri hosted an event at Rouses Supermarket in New Orleans in which New Orleans Saints player Pierre Thomas spoke on behalf of childhood obesity. Thomas' charity iCAN Foundation was founded this year in 2012 and is one of the six charities competing in Zespri's Kiwifruit for Kids competition. The iCAN Foundation is currently in first place in the competition with over 16,000 points.
"We want to teach everyone the importance of being active and eating healthy," said Pierre Thomas at Rouses Supermarket. "We've partnered with Zespri Kiwifruit because they're doing a wonderful thing; I'm on board with them. You learn so much when you visit kiwifruitforkids.com where you play various games and learn about childhood obesity. Zespri is pushing that forward and I'd like to thank them for allowing me to be part of their program."
Rouses also was a proud participant in the Southern charity's event. Positioning Zespri Kiwifruit at the front of the store with Kiwifruit for Kids signage, they enjoyed a great increase in sales. Joe Watson of Rouses said, "This is our second year of being involved in Kiwifruit for Kids and it has been a great success story for us. Teaming with the iCAN Foundation this year has been a wonderful experience and having Pierre Thomas come out for the kick-off of the local campaign was extra special for Rouses. Thank you so much to Zespri for making this all happen."
Integrating its retailers into the 2012 Kiwifruit for Kids campaign, Zespri is doing an even bigger push this year to be involved in the Kiwifruit for Kids charity events and making sure Zespri's retailer partners are highlighted. Zespri's effort to host an event at its southern retailer partner, Rouses, with its southern charity, iCAN Foundation, Zespri furthers its goal to show support not only for fighting the battle against the childhood obesity epidemic, but for its local charities and loyal retail partners.
Concluding on October 21, 2012, the winner of the Kiwifruit for Kids campaign will receive $10K, second place takes home $5K, and the other four participating charities will receive $1500 just for playing.
ZESPRI
ZESPRI is the world's largest kiwifruit marketer, with over 2,500 growers producing and exporting more than 100 million trays of kiwifruit a year to over 60 countries. ZESPRI is a grower owned cooperative of New Zealand kiwifruit growers, with the aim of ensuring top quality ZESPRI kiwifruit are provided to consumers around the world. For more health information and easy summertime recipes, please visit www.zesprikiwi.com or check us out on Facebook.
iCAN Foundation
iCAN Foundation Powered by Pierre Thomas is dedicated to creating a more active lifestyle within the youth of today in Louisiana, Mississippi and Illinois through various programs; It's Geaux Time!, I Can Grow – Community Garden Project and Football Skills Day. Our aim is to empower the youngsters and their parents to make better choices and develop healthier habits, so they can avoid largely preventable chronic diseases, such as, diabetes and heart disease. I Can
Foundation is taking an active approach to make a difference in the lives of our youth. "As a kid, I spent a majority of my time outside playing different sports and games. These days, the youngsters have so many different distractions with T.V., movies, computers, video games, and cell phones that we're here to show them that being active can be both fun and rewarding. I look forward to helping young people in Louisiana, Illinois and Mississippi live a healthier lifestyle," says Pierre Thomas. www.believeican.org
Rouses
Rouses Markets is one of the 10 largest independent grocers in the United States. Owned and operated by a second and third generation of the Rouse family, the Louisiana-based company has 38 locations in two states, and employs over 5,400 team members. Rouses Markets has been consistently voted best supermarket and best place to work. www.rouses.com
Source: ZESPRI