Teams Raced from New Orleans to Detroit With No Cash, Just Support of the Public
New York, May 27, 2014 – In just 36 hours over the Memorial Day weekend, the eight Escape for Good participants raised a total of over $36,000 for their favorite charities. By utilizing the power of social media for social good, two-person teams raced from New Orleans to Detroit with no money in their pocket and dressed as their favorite heroes. The participants made the thousand-plus mile trek in under two days using their wit, power of persuasion and the good will of others to win big in the name of charity.
In a race that was too close to call, the winning teams Cowabunga and Make a Stand split the bonus grand prize of $20,000 for their charities Project Mercy and Marin Community Foundation, respectively. Runners-up Epic Change, a team made up of actors Jeremiah Bitsu (“Breaking Bad”) and Estrella Nouri, won the bonus $5,000 for Charity: Water. Escape’s founder and creative director, Rocco Gardner and his business/race partner John “Buck” Buckmaster raised almost $5,000 for Sweet Relief. The Seminole Tribe of Florida generously donated the bonus prizes.
As teams travelled from the South through the Midwest, they called upon their followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to do their part to support the teams’ charities. Celebrities who answered the call included Akon, Albert Hammond Jr., Stephen Merchant, Neon Tree’s Tyler Glenn, and Chloe Norgaard who urged their over 7 million combined Twitter followers to help the Escape teams raise money and people listened. As the teams hustled their way up the Midwest corridor to the Motor City, they received more than $11,000 in outside donations. The exhausted teams crossed the finish line at Exodus in Detroit around 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
“Escape for Good was 36 hours of pure adrenaline,” said Greg Delaune of the Make a Stand team. “It was an extraordinary opportunity to support Make A Stand and their global effort to fight child slavery, while also showcasing the entrepreneurship, innovation, and vitality of New Orleans and Detroit.”
Contestants captured the adventure with their smart phones, keeping their audience up-to-date on all that was happening from singing in New Orleans’ Jackson Square to hanging out with Elvis in Graceland.
Escape Founder Rocco Gardner said, “This was our best race yet! We are working on ways to re-think how people fund raise and engage with charities. We were blown away by how amazing the public was, whether sponsoring a team, spreading the word, or simply helping us in our mission to travel through the country. Special thanks to New Orleans and Detroit, two of the great American cities, and thank you to everyone who made this possible!”
Past Escape for Good races, originating in New York City and Los Angeles, earned $10,000 and $20,000, respectively, with teams crossing the country (and even the Atlantic) dressed in hero attire.
Donations to Escape for Good charities can still be made by visiting Escape’s CrowdRise.
ABOUT ESCAPE
Escape is the creative vehicle of experiential agency Escape Productions LLC. Founded in New York City in 2009, Escape recently acquired a new home base in the high desert on the private 40-acre ranch, “Rancho V”, situated in Pioneertown, California. Escape’s Rancho V serves as a hub for musicians, photographers, thought leaders, and pioneers from across the globe, to find their true “escape”, and adopt an efficient and direct course to their goals. Rancho V also hosts recording sessions in its state-of-the studio and photo shoots in its desert retreat locale.
By enabling and empowering a community of artists, inspired entrepreneurs, connectors, altruistic developers and more, Escape is committed to improving the circumstances of others. Escape’s founder Rocco Gardner brought the inaugural Escape to New York festival to New York in 2011 on the Shinnecock Indian Nation Reservation. Since then Escape has hosted similar events in Montauk, NY; Los Angeles, CA whilst developing its Escape for Good race and agency. The organization continues to work with the Native American Tribes, creating immersive, one-of-a-kind experiences and economic development opportunities.
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