The Marcus Graham Project and SERVE 60™ Joined Forces to Create “The Boomerang Effect”–First Ever 60 Hour Global Tweet-a-Thon During Daylight Savings Time Weekend.

DALLAS, TX (March 15, 2010) – “Change Your Clock. Change The World” Not only is that the slogan of the new, national grassroots organization SERVE 60™…..it’s what many Americans did during Daylight Saving Time weekend. But did that change also apply to the advertising world? The Marcus Graham Project certainly thinks it did.

The Marcus Graham Project (MGP), in partnership with SERVE 60™ hosted a 60-hour launch campaign and tweet-a-thon entitled, The Boomerang Effect. The campaign was focused on promoting service, volunteer recruitment, mentorship, and raising awareness, as well as resources for MGP programs. SERVE 60™ is a national grassroots initiative designed to increase community service and volunteerism in America during Daylight Saving Time Weekends. The Marcus Graham Project is a national network of professionals that have purposed themselves in developing and mentoring the next generation of thought leadership within the advertising, media and marketing industry.  The organization was named after a character played by Eddie Murphy in the 1992 film, Boomerang, produced by Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment in which Murphy played an advertising executive.  The film inspired countless men and women in the African American community to consider jobs in the field, which is what MGP seeks to accomplish.

The Boomerang Effect served as the official launch party of MGP, paying homage to the film, but also inspiring supporters to note that when you give back and sacrifice, good works will return unto you.  Hosted also as a social media experiment, the event sought  to determine how many people will join both movements by signing up on their social media channels including Twitter, Facebook and Ning, as well as how many commitments, financial and otherwise, from corporate partners, agencies and private citizens it could receive. Hundreds of professionals attended launch parties aimed at recruiting volunteers and mentors for MGP as well as to encourage volunteering over SERVE 60™ weekend. The launch parties were held in various cities including London, Chicago, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Washington DC and Detroit. The weekend culminated with a live-streamed supporter appreciation party, tweet-a-thon and fundraiser held at The Tastemakers Suite (MGP Headquarters) in Dallas, TX on Sunday March 14, the start of Daylight Saving Time.

“I knew that I had a purpose to fulfill with the creation of The Marcus Graham Project whether I had the resources to do so or not,” says Lincoln Stephens, founder of the organization.

Stephens developed this organization on a shoe-string budget to create a pipeline and incubator of diverse talent after recognizing the need for greater mentorship and career development

within the advertising fields. Since its inception, The Marcus Graham Project has received a great deal of attention and national press coverage for its unique focus on diversity and mentorship.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the success of this partnership with The Marcus Graham Project to produce The Boomerang Effect”, stated L. Maxwell McKissick, Founder of SERVE 60™. “This partnership provided a unique opportunity to create and align ourselves with a platform that resonated with our core values,” he added. “One of the ultimate ways an individual can give back to the community is through mentorship. At its core essence, The Marcus Graham Project is mentorship personified so partnering on their global launch made perfect sense and allowed us to further extend our organization’s mission to promote service and volunteerism across America and the world,” stated McKissick.

Given the success of The Boomerang Effect, the two organizations plan to repeat the program again when Daylight Saving Time ends on the weekend of November 7. “Based on the phenomenal turnouts and positive feedback we received about the collaboration, we decided that we have to continue building on this momentum”, stated Lincoln Stephens. “The Marcus Graham Project and SERVE 60™ have already begun the creative process to make the campaign in November even bigger and more exciting. The success of our collaboration proves that, with the next generation of thought leaders, there’s a clear cut, genuine interest in this type of hybrid between social media, traditional corporate activities and social responsibility“, added Stephens.

SERVE 60™ is a national grassroots initiative designed to increase service and volunteerism across America by asking each American to donate the 60 minutes lost or gained twice a year during Daylight Saving Time weekends to a nonprofit or the community. SERVE 60™ offers a searchable database of volunteer opportunities throughout the country which is powered by Volunteer Match, one of the largest volunteer service organizations in the country.

For more information about SERVE 60™ or to learn how you can become a part of the volunteer movement, please visit their website at www.serve60.com or call (414) 389-9906. You can also find SERVE 60™ on facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Marcus Graham Project (MGP) is a national network of diverse professionals that have purposed themselves in developing the next generation of thought leadership within the advertising, media and marketing industry. The mission of MGP is to identify, expose, mentor and train ethnically diverse men between the ages of 16 and 34 in all aspects of the media industry, including advertising, entertainment and marketing. The vision of (MGP) is to provide long-term access to information, technology, financial and people resources that will strategically develop a viable pool of talent and leadership within the industry. Please visit their website at www.marcusgrahamproject.org in order to learn more about the network.

Sponsor and Partner opportunities are available for November 2010. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or partner of The Marcus Graham Project, SERVE 60™ or The Boomerang Effect, please contact them at sponsorships@marcusgrahamproject.org or info@serve60.com

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