CABOT, Vt., Dec. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cabot Creamery Cooperative is pleased to announce the top performers in another inspiring round of Reward Volunteers 2.0®, a program created to reward volunteers for the work they do improving lives and communities. From October 27 through November 27, their combined efforts totaled 3,307 hours of volunteer work, benefiting 165 non-profit organizations across the United States.

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"Reward Volunteers 2.0 participation was strong in November, continuing the trend from the previous two months," says Cabot Director of Marketing/Integrated Services, Jen Neary who worked with Chalo, Inc., a Vermont-based startup, to create the Reward Volunteers 2.0 iPhone app and web widget. "With this month's activity, our total participation is up to 10,207 hours of community service by 303 individuals volunteering for 349 different organizations. Reward Volunteers 2.0 users are doing outstanding work in their local communities, and we're proud to honor their efforts."

Reward Volunteers uses Facebook Connect to enable participants to log their volunteer activity and share the volunteer experience with friends via Facebook, email, and the app itself. The more hours logged, the more 'likes' and 'comments' received, and emails opened, the more likely participants are to win prizes each month, now until January 27, 2013, the day the final grand prizes are awarded. Reward Volunteers 2.0 is the second phase of the program; the first ran from February 14 though July 7, 2012.

"As a cooperative, Cabot believes strongly in community service," Neary said. "Day after day, the farm families who own Cabot spend a portion of the little free-time they have volunteering throughout New England and New York. With Reward Volunteers 2.0, we hope to inspire others to donate their time to a local charity or non-profit by rewarding those who give selflessly to their communities."

The November winners have been selected, and will receive a variety of prizes from Reward Volunteers 2.0 co-sponsors.

"I am so thrilled to have won the Liberty Hill Farms Vacation prize," said Tonya, a volunteer at The Haven Youth Center in Indiana. "I love the work I do at the youth center, and this just inspires me to keep up the good work. Reward Volunteers is an amazing program and I'm happy to be a part of it!"

This month's winning organization, Golden Retriever Emergency Assistance Team (G.R.E.A.T.), will receive a $1,000 donation from Cabot. "We will soon begin our 13th year of rescuing wonderful Golden Retrievers, and the $1000 prize from Reward Volunteers will be most helpful in bringing these dogs full circle into loving homes," said Judy Brown, the organization's founder and president.

Other October winners include Reward Volunteers 2.0 users from across the nation who've won: Cabot Cheddar gift basket; National Cooperative Grocers Association $100 Gift Card; Farm Families Basket; King Arthur Flour $100 Gift Card; copies of Sending Milk and Hope for Women Greeting card packs; and a vacation to Liberty Hill Farm in Rochester, Vermont. A full list of winners and prizes can be found below.

October Reward Volunteers 2.0 Winners
$1,000 Prize for Non-Profit Organization
G.R.E.A.T. (Golden Retriever Emergency Assistance Team) – Florida

$500 Prize for Reward Volunteers User
Heather L., Pennsylvania – Red Paw Emergency Relief Team

Liberty Hill Farm Vacation
Tonya W., Indiana – The Haven Youth Center

King Arthur Flour $100 Gift Card
Alex R., Illinois – Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary

NCGA $100 Gift Card
Barb G., Vermont – Soldiers' Angels Vermont

Farm Families Basket (Freund Farm CowPots, Neighborly Farms of VT Cheese Variety Pack, Taylor Brothers Farm Maple Syrup)
Alana J., Pennsylvania – Luzerne County Pit Bull Owners Group

$75 Cabot Cheese Gift Basket
Daniela E., Massachusetts – Danvers Community Access Television

Sending Milk Books & Hope for Women Greeting Cards
Virginia B., Arizona – AARP Arizona
April M., New Hampshire – Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains
Sylvia L., Pennsylvania – Berkeley Hills Lutheran Church

A complete list of the organizations benefiting from the Reward Volunteers can be accessed at: http://www.cabotcheese.coop/orgs.html

ABOUT CABOT CREAMERY COOPERATIVE
Cabot Creamery Cooperative has been in continuous operation in Vermont since 1919, and makes a full line of cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and butter. Widely known as makers of "The World's Best Cheddar," Cabot is owned by the 1200 dairy farm families of Agri-Mark, the Northeast's premier dairy cooperative, with farms located throughout New England and upstate New York. For more information on Cabot, visit: http://www.cabotcheese.coop

Cabot Creamery Cooperative is the world's first cheese maker and dairy cooperative to achieve B Corporation Certification, a validation of its attention to environmental and social impacts on stakeholders.

Contact: Bob Schiers
(888) 214.9444 or bschiers@cabotcheese.coop

SOURCE Cabot Creamery Cooperative