Weber Shandwick Provides Pro-Bono Support to Living on One

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Nov 05, 2012, 03:04 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Weber Shandwick, a leading global public relations firm, today announced it is mobilizing its network of offices to support Living on One. The organization's mission is to create awareness and provide opportunities for young people to fight poverty effectively through innovative microfinance solutions, and the firm will provide PR support to its nationwide film tour to universities across the U.S.

The organization recently completed a full length documentary, Living on One Dollar, and is now launching a national bus tour, participating in events at universities across the country. The documentary follows the two-month journey of college sophomores living on one dollar a day in a rural Guatemalan village and their search to understand extreme poverty firsthand.

"Our 2010 journey was spurred by our desire to understand and relate to the reality of poverty on a personal level. Seeing the opportunity to connect with our peers through social media, we created the documentary to inspire action and drive efforts towards addressing global poverty," said Chris Temple, a founder of Living on One. "Weber Shandwick has been instrumental in providing us with a best-practices approach to the creation and dissemination of our content, helping us build the community of Living on One advocates."

Weber Shandwick has worked closely with the Living on One team to develop an integrated communications campaign to drive engagement online and offline with key stakeholders as well as support in-market media relations efforts around tour stops.

The four month tour kicked off on September 8 with a launch event at the flagship Whole Foods Market^®store in downtown Austin, TX. Other tour stops and screenings are being held in Washington, D.C., New York City, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"Living on One has an amazing story and important call to action to share. They are engaging people by embracing the role of digital in the storytelling process to drive participation and mobilize their peers in their mission," said Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick and Living on One board member. "As an organization with shared values, we're able to capitalize on the incredible passion of our people to bring energy and commitment to Living on One."

Living on One serves as a catalyst for the rapidly growing movement of young people working to confront global poverty. It provides both the inspiration and the practical tools to help students get involved in microfinance through giving loans, taking classes, finding internships, or even creating a campus lending program to make an immediate difference in the lives of the extreme poor. Follow their journey at Facebook.com/livingonone and join the conversation @Livingonone #L1Tour.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations firm with offices in 81 countries around the world. The firm has won numerous awards for innovative approaches and creative campaigns including being named both The Holmes Report's 2012 Global Agency of the Year and the "Most Creative PR Firm in the World," based on the agency's first-place finish in its "Creative Index," as well as PR News' 2012 Digital PR Firm of the Year. Major practice areas include consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. The firm has deep, award-winning expertise in social media and digital marketing that helps drive engagement. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com.