On September 11, 2011 please check www.groupon.ph and support the The Love Yourself Project, which aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines through education and counselling.

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Groupon Philippines Support HIV Awareness

Inaugural G-Team “Deal” signed with The Love Yourself Project (www.loveyourself.ph) and Frenzy condoms

MANILA-- Groupon Philippines (www.groupon.ph) will feature an unprecedented online deal on September 11, 2011 to support The Love Yourself Project, which aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines through education and counselling.

The deal, which will go live on September 11, will raise the ‘9-1-1’ emergency signal on the staggering rise of HIV cases in the Philippines. According to a July report from the Department of Health -National Epidemiology Center, the Philippines is in the brink of an epidemic-level spread of HIV. July 2011 registered 204 newly-diagnosed HIV cases, the highest logged in a single month, and a 56% increase compared to the same period last year. The Philippines is 1 of only 7 countries worldwide where HIV cases are increasing.

The deal will allow anyone with internet access to donate to the cause either through a P100 cash donation, a P400 donation which comes with a free Love Yourself t-shirt, and a P1000 donation that entitles Groupon holders to the Love Yourself photo-shoot on September 24, complete with a pre-shoot styling session and a free Love Yourself t-shirt. The deal will run from September 11 and end on September 13.

Frenzy condoms also agreed to match each Groupon sold with an in-kind donation of condoms, which will be distributed during The Love Yourself Project’s various outreach, testing and counselling sessions.

The deal is Groupon’s inaugural G-Team deal outside North America. Groupon was born out of collective action and fundraising platform The Point in 2008, and later channelled its philanthropic roots into the launch of G-Team. While Groupon enables shoppers to discover the best their city has to offer, G-Team further connects consumers to their cities by spotlighting local organizations. Facilitating support through the collective action-by-tipping point model that Groupon pioneered, G-Team campaigns are designed around an organization’s specific need, like fundraising to create school supply kits, but only ‘go live’ if a certain number of people agree to participate. There is no cost for mission-driven organizations to participate in G-Team and all proceeds directly benefit the featured cause. This innovative approach to fundraising has raised more than PhP12M for various organizations.

“We are excited to employ the ‘people power’ model of Groupon’s G-Team to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines,” said Ronivin Garcia Pagtakhan, CEO/President of The Love Yourself Project. “We are honored to be the first organization featured by The G-Team in the Philippines.”
To avail of this deal, just log on to www.groupon.ph at 12 noon on September 11, 20011, and follow the instructions. While there is no cap for the P100 donation, quantities are limited for the t-shirts and photo-shoot sessions.

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About The Love Yourself Project

The Love Yourself Project aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youth and key affected population in the Philippines, primarily through education and counselling. It is the first project by the VINN Advocacy group, which was founded by Twitter Shorty Awards Nurse of The Year Awardee Ronivin (Vinn) Garcia Pagtakhan. The Love Yourself Project is supported by popular TV personality Boy Abunda (United Nations Population Fund spokesperson), Rep. Rissa Hontiveros (Akbayan), and actors Paulo Avelino and Rocco Nacino.


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