Community Giving: Safe Families & Communities: Target House
Faith Gantner Rewarded With a Trip To Volunteer at Target House and Visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Minneapolis (July 30, 2007) — Target and the Hearst Teen Network announced the winners of the “Target House Volunteer Contest,” a national contest designed to reward eight teen girls who exemplify the true spirit of volunteerism. In addition to seven other winners, local Midland, Mich. teen, Faith Gantner, has won the ultimate volunteer prize—a chance to visit Target House for a four-day volunteer trip and participate in a variety of meaningful programs with Target House families.
With more than 100 submissions, the panel of judges from Hearst, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and The Intelligence Group, a market research and trend consulting firm focused on understanding youth consumer culture, selected eight winners based on their responses to three essay questions, commitment to volunteering and giving back to their local communities, leadership position held in her school/community and grade point average. Two former St. Jude patients and Target House residents, 18-year-old Marcela Velente and 16-year-old Hayley Arceneaux, also helped with the selection process.
The “Target House Volunteer Contest,” which ran from May 25 through June 22, also sought to empower teen volunteers and provide the winners with a forum to interact with and support their peers. By allowing girls to share their stories and talk about how they work to make a difference in their daily lives, this contest aimed to foster a positive, can-do attitude in young girls across the country. During their trip to Target House July 25 – 28, the girls participated in outdoor field day activities with St. Jude patients and their families, hosted a pirate party that included a scavenger hunt with a buried treasure chest as a prize, volunteered at a Target House pizza party and also toured St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, gaining hands-on volunteer experience as they prepared apartments for new arrivals.
“Volunteerism is something that we truly value at Target, and as a corporation we strive to empower our communities by donating time and resources to countless local projects across the country,” said Laysha Ward, vice president, community relations, Target. “It is inspiring to see that many teens are actively volunteering in their communities, and we hope the ‘Target House Volunteer Contest’ further motivates young girls and all teens to give back and help make a difference. We are honored to reward these eight outstanding contest winners with a trip to Target House, which is sure to be a life-changing experience.”
After reflecting on her recent volunteer trip to Target House, Faith commented, “My favorite part was definitely seeing St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital come to life and spending time with all of the patients. I was surprised to find how uplifting Target House was. It’s really a place full of hope and love.”
Faith was chosen as one of eight winners nationwide for the “Target House Volunteer Contest” due to her passion for giving back and strong desire to help make a positive difference in her community. Faith has volunteered countless hours for organizations including Stuffed Animals for Emergencies, an organization that collects stuffed animals and distributes them to children in need, and the American Cancer Society, specifically with Relay for Life. Faith has also been instrumental in a young boy’s life through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, spending quality time and helping him with his schoolwork.
Target House opened in May 1999 as a home-away-from-home for St. Jude patients whose treatments require they be in Memphis 90 days or longer, and their families. In honor of the eighth anniversary of Target House, Target awarded eight outstanding teens with the opportunity to give back on a national scale and show their genuine dedication to helping others in need. Target is committed to giving back to its communities and aims to foster that same spirit in all of its guests and team members.
About Hearst Teen Network
Launched in March 2006, Hearst Magazines Digital Media is a unit of Hearst Magazines dedicated to creating and implementing the digital online and mobile strategy for Hearst’s magazine brands and other sites, which serve the company’s consumers and audience. Hearst Magazines is a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a total of 19 U.S. titles and nearly 200 international editions. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher of monthly magazines (74.1 million total adults, according to MRI, spring 07). The company also publishes 20 magazines in the United Kingdom through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited.
About St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.
Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund- raising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target serves guests at 1,502 stores in 47 states nationwide by delivering today’s best retail trends at affordable prices. Target is committed to providing guests with great design through innovative products, in-store experiences and community partnerships. Whether visiting a Target store or shopping online at Target.com, guests enjoy a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to thousands of unique and highly differentiated items. Target (NYSE:TGT) gives more than $3 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.
