Heifer 12X12 Blogger Named Regional Finalist for CLASSY Award

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (July 10, 2012) – Heifer International’s Global Blogging Ambassador, Betty Londergan, is a regional finalist for Volunteer of the Year in the fourth annual CLASSY Awards. Londergan, along with four other finalists, was chosen out of a pool of more than 2,000 nominations.

Londergan is spending a year of her life visiting some of the poorest and most remote parts of the planet chronicling her experience on the blog, Heifer12x12.com. Londergan is volunteering her time and writing for the global hunger nonprofit Heifer International, sharing the intimate stories of the families in Heifer’s projects.

Starting July 9, members of the public will have the opportunity to vote a single time for Londergan in the category of Volunteer of the Year in the Southeast region by visiting http://www.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/vote. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on July 26, 2012.

The CLASSY Award is one of the most prestigious recognitions in the nonprofit industry, awarded to the most outstanding and compelling philanthropic achievers by their peers and supporters. The CLASSY Team said Londergan’s story “stood out as one of the best of the best.”

While the public is casting their votes, a panel of Past CLASSY Awards winners will judge and score each Regional Finalist based on impact, originality and category fit. The Regional Winners in each category will be determined by a combination of the public vote (50 percent) and the past winner judges' scores (50 percent). Regional winners will be announced on July 31, and the CLASSY Awards ceremony will take place Sept. 22, 2012.

About Heifer International:
Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in 40 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant. For more information, visit
www.heifer.org or call (800) 696-1918.