Monthly Archives: January 2010

READY FOR TAKEOFF! RED BULL FLUGTAG RETURNS TO THE U.S. THIS SUMMER

APPLY NOW TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT IN MIAMI, TWIN CITIES, LONG BEACH, DENVER AND PHILADELPHIA

LOS ANGELES – January 19, 2010 – Red Bull Flugtag is flying across the U.S. this summer with five events from coast to coast! This outrageous flying competition will kick off the year in Miami on July 10th, followed by a debut in Minnesota’s Twin Cities on July 24th, a flight into Southern California’s Long Beach Harbor on August 7th, and a mile-high trip to Denver on August 28th. Philadelphia will host the final U.S. Red Bull Flugtag of 2010 along the banks of the Delaware River on September 4th.

Applications can be downloaded at www.redbullflugtagusa.com and are now being accepted either online or via snail-mail. If you’ve got the guts, want the glory, or just know someone you’d like to push off a 30-foot high ramp, don’t miss what could be the flight of your life!

WINGS OF WISDOM

For all first-time flyers, Red Bull Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, is a competition that dares both the brave and the brainy to design, build and pilot homemade flying machines off a 30-foot high ramp in hopes of achieving human-powered flight. But don’t be fooled – this is no ordinary flying competition. While distance is important, creativity and showmanship are necessary to impress the judges. These criteria have inspired such outrageous crafts as a sky-high Popemobile, an airborne outhouse, a flying fire engine, and even a replica of Santa and his sleigh to test their wings at Red Bull Flugtag.

While the sky may be the limit on creativity, there are still a few flight regulations. First off, all flying machines must be entirely human-powered (no external energy sources or stored power, so forget about the slingshots, catapults or anything besides your own burliness.) Second, no matter what they say, size does matter – all crafts must be less than 30 feet wide and must weigh no more than 450lbs (including the pilot).

SETTING THE BAR

Since the first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991, more than 80 Flugtags have been held around the globe, attracting up to 300,000 spectators for a single event. The record for the farthest flight-to-date currently stands at 195 feet and was set at Red Bull Flugtag Austria in 2000, but the U.S. record is not far behind, standing at 155 feet and set in 2007 at Red Bull Flugtag Nashville. After a year away from the U.S. skies, the pressure is on for this year’s Flugtag flyers to blow these records away!

Red Bull Flugtag is free and open to the public. For more information, including applications, photos, and video footage from past Red Bull Flugtag events, visit www.redbullflugtagusa.com. For media inquires, contact Ellie Applen at (323) 573-5719 or ellieapplen@redbullflugtagusa.com.

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Video:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE_vkcCfewI

Sodexo Foundation Accepting Applications for STOP Hunger Scholarships that Recognize and Reward Young People Who Are Helping Fight Hunger

Up to five $5,000 winners to be named; Application period runs January 1 – February 26, 2010

GAITHERSBURG, Md., January 5, 2009 – The Sodexo Foundation is accepting applications for its national STOP Hunger Scholarship program on January 1, 2010. The scholarships were first introduced in 2007 in order to support the education of young people who are working to end hunger in communities across the country – and to draw attention to the innovative and effective solutions that they are implementing toward ending hunger in their lifetime.

“The problem of hunger in America is getting worse as the recession and high unemployment continue,” said Stephen J. Brady, president of the Sodexo Foundation. “The STOP Hunger Scholarship program recognizes the efforts of young people who – despite their young ages – recognize the injustice of this national tragedy and are making a real difference in the fight against hunger.”

In November, a United States Department of Agriculture survey documented that 17 million American households (nearly 15 percent) were “food insecure” in 2008, compared with 13 million in 2007.

Up to five students selected as national winners will each receive a $5,000 scholarship award and a matching $5,000 grant in their name, for the hunger-related charity of their choice.  The scholarships will be presented on June 10, 2010 at the Sodexo Foundation Dinner in Washington, D.C.  In addition, up to 20 regional winners will receive a $1,000 grant in their name, for the hunger-related charity of their choice. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in an accredited education institution (kindergarten through graduate school) in the United States and be able to demonstrate an on going commitment to hunger-relief activities in their community.

The deadline for applications is February 26, 2010.  For a complete description of the program or an online application visit www.SodexoFoundation.org.

Sodexo, Inc.
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), a member of Sodexo Group, is a leading provider of Comprehensive Service Solutions serving more than ten million customers daily in corporations, health care, long term care, retirement, schools, higher education, government and remote sites. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., Sodexo, Inc. operates in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with $7.7 billion (USD) in annual revenue and 120,000 employees. The Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org) is an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $12.7 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

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