Household cutbacks, job losses and foreclosures still loom large, affecting people’s lives and abilities to give during the holidays. A down economy also has the potential to deprive people of the gift of giving, a harsh reality during the time of year when giving matters most.
Into this breach steps Restaurant.com, which has announced the return of ‘Feed It Forward,’ an initiative to support the important act of giving, despite these persistent economic hardships. Now until Christmas, individuals are entitled to give up to $9,000 in Restaurant.com gift certificates, from a total pool of $30 million, to family, friends and co-workers located anywhere in the country—at no cost.
‘People are challenged right now to get what they need for themselves let alone for others,’ said Cary Chessick, president and CEO at Restaurant.com. ‘We are enabling a nationwide giving movement and ‘feeding frenzy’ that allows everyone, no matter what their financial situation, to experience the gift of giving.’
The Feed It Forward initiative is built upon a single giving Web site, www.Restaurant.com/FeedItForward, stocked with a total of three million, $10 Restaurant.com gift certificates totaling $30 million. The site will be live through midnight PST on Dec. 25 and allows individuals to go online to give gift certificates on a first come, first serve basis. Gift givers choose whom to give to and gift recipients then decide where to dine among more than 6,500 participating Restaurant.com restaurants nationwide.
To send free $10 gift certificates, gift givers simply enter their name and email address, as well as information for the people they wish to give to—as many as 30 people each day for the length of the initiative. They can go to http://www.Restaurant.com/FeedItForward every day and share gift certificates with people anywhere in the country, giving out a total value that far exceeds even the most impressive holiday gift giving budget during the healthiest of economic times.
Once a participant selects their chosen recipients, they can share a brief note about why they are giving. Restaurant.com will feature some of these messages of appreciation on the Feed It Forward home page and, if chosen by the individual, will send the giver’s personal message along with the gift certificate. As people join in the celebration of giving and give away gift certificates, a U.S. map displayed on the site will depict the areas of the country where the giving is happening along with keeping track of the amount given in real time.
A Feed It Forward Facebook application allows givers to easily access their friend network and select those they wish to give to. Recipients are sent messages alerting them of their free gift and givers’ status updates will reflect the amount of gift certificates they have given and who has received them.
‘We know what it feels like to give and the timing is right now for us to do our part,’ said Chessick. ‘There is absolutely no cost for giving through the site. So, please give to families. Give to friends. Give to neighbors. Give to grandparents. Give to co-workers, but most of all, give.’
Individuals nationwide have equal opportunity to give the free gift certificates away while the quantity lasts. Individuals can visit http://www.Restaurant.com/FeedItForward to participate and learn more about the ‘Feed It Forward’ initiative.
