Taco Bell announced that beginning on Thursday, they will launch the Graduate to Go initiative to invite Americans to either like through Facebook, Tweet on Twitter, or Share on YouTube specific content to help teenagers at risk of dropping out of high school.
The Taco Bell Foundation will donate $5 for every time the custom-designed graduation caps created by Boys & Girls Club teens to be posted on the Taco Bell Facebook page is 'Liked', for each time a Twitter post with the hashtag #GraduatetoGo is updated, and for each time the new Graduate to Go television ad starring Oscar-nominee Mark Wahlberg and teen Mona Dixon is Shared on YouTube.
Taco Bell released a behind-the-scenes feature of the TV ad called "Imagine," according to the press release issued by the corporation on Thursday, featuring three-year-running Graduate to Go ambassador Wahlberg, which can be viewed here.
The ad will follow Dixon, who was helped by the Graduate to Go foundation through her involvement with the Boys & Girls Club, noted the press release, while Wahlberg narrates the teen's story of going from homeless to a successful college graduate with a 3.93 GPA.
"Each time I talk to a teen like Mona Dixon who has been helped by Graduate to Go, I am reminded of the reasons why I've partnered with the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens," Wahlberg said for the press release. "Participating in this campaign with Mona inspired me, and I hope it will inspire others to help teens like her achieve greatness against all odds."
The Graduate to Go initiative, running from May 24th to June 7th, will include a fundraiser running through the final date to encourage Taco Bell customers to donate at least $1 to fund teen programs, said the press release. The 2011 program raised $3 million and distributed 350 grants to the Boys & Girls Club and other organizations striving to help teens graduate from high school.
"Graduate to Go strives to put a diploma in every teen's hand, and it's going to require action from all of us," Greg Creed, chief executive officer, Taco Bell, was quoted as stating for the press release. "Taco Bell is providing simple ways to make a big difference both in our restaurants and online, and our hope is that we can inspire the nation to mobilize around this important cause."
