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Twitter Lights Up with #AllianzBirdies Twitter Challenge Raising $25,000 for Junior Achievement of South Florida
[February 10, 2014]

Twitter Lights Up with #AllianzBirdies Twitter Challenge Raising $25,000 for Junior Achievement of South Florida


MINNEAPOLIS --(Business Wire)--

Thousands of tweets by golf fans and friends of Junior Achievement brought the first #AllianzBirdies Twitter (News - Alert) Challenge to a close Feb. 9, raising $25,000 for Junior Achievement (JA) of South Florida. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) made the donation after an exciting week and spectacular finish to the 2014 Allianz Championship. Through the #AllianzBirdies Twitter Challenge, golf fans helped raise money for JA's financial literacy programs by tweeting #AllianzBirdies every time they saw a golfer make a birdie, which generated a $2 per tweet donation from Allianz Life to JA of South Florida.

Thousands of people showed their support for South Florida youth by tweeting #AllianzBirdies throughout the three-day tournament. In total more than 12,000 tweets were sent as a result of the #AllianzBirdies Twitter Challenge. As the Championship came down to a playoff with the final two golfers, Allianz Life announced it would double the initial donation of $1 per tweet, promising $2 for every tweet with the hashtag mention.

"Junior Achievement's focus on improving the financial literacy of young people creates a benefit for the entire community for the long-term," said Allianz Life Chief Marketing Officer Nancy Jones. "JA of South Florida embraced this inaugural Twitter Challenge and they immedately spread the word to their business partners, volunteers, and donors and throughout the national JA network, which was key to the success of meeting this Challenge."



"I was ecstatic to see the number people who participated in the #AllianzBirdies Twitter Challenge," said JA of South Florida CEO Melissa Aiello. "This donation allows us to enhance our existing programming, which helps teach area youth about their roles as individuals, workers, and consumers so they're better prepared when they join the workforce."

During the past two years, Allianz Life has donated more than $215,000 to JA both in South Florida and in Minnesota, where the company is based. With 13 chapters in Florida, JA is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.


Now in its 14th year, the 2014 Allianz Championship is sponsored by Allianz Life, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Allianz Global Investors and Euler Hermes. The event was held Feb. 7-9 at the Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, Fla. This is the first tournament of the early-season Florida swing for the Champions Tour. The Boca Raton Regional Hospital has received all tournament proceeds since 2009, totaling more than $350,000. Allianz Life introduced the #AllianzBirdies Twitter Challenge this year to increase public awareness around the topic of financial literacy.

About Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2014, has been keeping its promises since 1896. Today, it carries on that tradition, helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuities and life insurance products. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with 142,000 employees worldwide. More than 78 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz knowledge, global reach, and capital strength to help them make the most of financial opportunities.

About Junior Achievement of South Florida

Junior Achievement of South Florida was founded in 1959. Using age-appropriate curricula designed to teach elementary students about their roles as individuals, workers, and consumers and to prepare middle grade and high school students for key economic and workforce issues they will face, Junior Achievement brings the free enterprise system to life in the classroom. Using this time-tested experiential model, Junior Achievement reaches annually more than 48,000 Broward and South Palm Beach County students through two hands-on learning programs, Dave and Lorraine Thomas and Falcone Family Foundation JA BizTowns for 5th graders and the Patten Family Foundation JA Finance Park for 8th graders, along with 22 other programs for grades K-12 in the classroom. For more information, visit www.jasouthflorida.org.


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