Fun and fabulous philanthropists gathered at F&B Tuesday night to celebrate the launch of LUV4wrd, a new, free, social- and causes-inspired mobile application. The app partnered with Atlanta-based Mercy Care and FLIP burger boutique for the event on the day known as "GivingTuesday," following Silver Thursday (also known as Thanksgiving), Black Friday, Shop-small Saturday and Cyber Monday.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
From organizers:
LUV4wrd links sponsors and users to a network of charities, causes and social good and the #LUV4HomelessATL campaign is a social media challenge designed to give warmth to the 7,000 homeless people in Atlanta by providing them with coats, gloves, socks, etc. LUV4wrd user posts equal dollars to Mercy Care, who operates Atlanta’s only healthcare for the homeless program.
"Our goal is to get at least 7,000 LUV4wrd posts, which equals $3,500 towards keeping our homeless men, women and children warmer this winter," says Bonnie Hardage, president of Mercy Care Foundation. "We want to reach 7,000 LUV4wrd posts because it's estimated that at any one time there are 7,000 homeless people on the streets in Atlanta. We also want to give a huge thank you to our campaign sponsor FLIP burger boutique for donating the funds to support the challenge."
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Here is how it works:
Users download the free app (LUV4wrd) from iPhone’s iTunes App Store or GooglePlay for Android phone users, then post a photo or video of what they “LUV.” For each user post, 50 cents is donated by FLIP burger boutique to Mercy Care for the #LUV4HomelessATL campaign.
LUV4wrd is free and easy. Simply posting a photo, video or text raises money and awareness for worthy causes. The brainchild of Bridgette Morris, who created the app after seeing the viral success of seeking online funding for her son's school fundraiser, Morris recognized the value of making it easy to link people to causes and link major brands/sponsors to charities and causes. Christopher Iansiti, chief operating officer of Luv4wrd, believes the app's positive and uplifting messages will create a go-to social medium for perpetuating positivity.
About LUV4wrd
LUV4wrd is a social media mobile app designed to give people, charities, and brands a voice, by believing that a single act of love can have a ripple effect that truly makes a difference in the world. Right now, inspiring moments of love are being shared all over social media – but they are mixed in with much negativity. LUV4wrd provides a dedicated forum for people to share more positive, uplifting messages that express who they are. Users share their LUV in a post, photo, or video with other LUV4wrd users and through their social networks.
About Mercy Care
About Mercy Care: Mercy Care, formerly known as St. Joseph’s Mercy Care Services, is the largest provider of primary health care for the homeless and underserved in Atlanta outside of the Grady Health System. Last year, 95 percent of Mercy Care’s patients were uninsured, 83 percent lived below the federal poverty line, 67 percent were homeless and more than 43 percent were women. Mercy Care operates five clinics (Mercy Clinic Downtown, Mercy Clinic North, Mercy Clinic at St. Luke's, Mercy Clinic at The Gateway and Mercy Clinic at City of Refuge) and eight others that are co-located with other homeless service providers.
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