Twitter Chooses Room to Read as Their First Corporate Social
Innovation Partner
Three San Francisco Innovators Come Together to Benefit Global
Education
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time ever, Twitter (www.twitter.com)
has decided to formally partner with a charity as part of a Corporate
Social Innovation initiative ? and they have chosen Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org),
a San Francisco-based non-profit which aims to empower millions of
children in the developing world through education.
The Fledgling Initiative is driven by Twitter?s belief in democratizing
access to information throughout the world via tweeting. As part of the
project, Twitter staff will participate in making a Pinot Noir and a
Chardonnay with Crushpad (www.crushpadwine.com)
? the San Francisco-based custom winery. In this first-of-its-kind
social winemaking project, the public will be invited to pre-purchase
bottles of the wine, follow its progress on Twitter and, at some stages,
have a chance to participate in its creation. Five dollars from every
bottle sold will go directly to Room to Read to support and enable
literacy programs in some of the poorest regions of the world.
?Like our friends at Twitter, Room to Read is thinking big and growing
fast. This innovative partnership will allow us to bring new libraries
to thousands of children in developing communities across Asia and
Africa,? said John Wood, founder and executive chairman of Room to Read.
?Not only does Room to Read?s get-things-done approach speak to our
start-up mentality, but as a company we want to find ways to make a
positive impact in the world,? said Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter.
The Fledgling Initiative will include multimedia content documenting the
wine?s development each step of the way, in-person events at the winery,
tweet ups, and even chances to taste the wine. The wine?s own micro-site
(www.fledglingwine.com)
will feature the news and updates.
?We?re excited to contribute to this initiative by creating two great
wines,? said Michael Brill, CEO of Crushpad. ?Using the same vineyards
and state-of-the-art winemaking that we?re known for, our goal is to
seriously over-deliver on both quality and experience.?
The wine is currently in the fermentation process and has a set release
date of fall 2010 ? just in time for the celebration of Room to Read?s 10th
Anniversary.
About Room to Read (@roomtoread)
Room to Read is an innovative non-profit leader dedicated to promoting
and enabling global education. Founded in 2000, the organization is
based on the belief that education is crucial to breaking the cycle of
poverty in the developing world. Since then, the organization has
supported over three million children by providing increased access to
higher-quality educational opportunities. Room to Read has established
more than 700 schools and over 7,000 bilingual libraries with five
million books, and continues to support the education of nearly 7,000
girls. For more information visit our website at www.roomtoread.org.
About Twitter (@twitter)
Twitter was founded in 2007 and is a communication network valued for
its real-time platform that connects people during breaking news, shared
events, everyday conversation, and beyond. From social movements in Iran
to a new level of connectivity at live events, Twitter has become the
tool of modern communication.
About Crushpad (@crushpad)
Crushpad is a custom winemaking service with locations in San Francisco,
Napa Valley and Bordeaux, with over 5,000 clients including wine
enthusiasts, professional winemakers, fine-wine retailers and
restaurants. Crushpad specializes in small-lot, luxury wine production
from world class vineyards in California and Bordeaux. The company was
founded in 2004 by wine industry veterans and technology industry
refugees determined to liberate winemaking form its traditional
stereotypes of impossible wealth, expansive chateaux and golden
retrievers. www.crushpadwine.com