Friday, November 17, 2006

Touch of Holiday Cheer

Pay By Touch(R), the leader in integrated biometric authentication, personalized marketing and payment solutions has joined forces with Paige Davis, formerly of TLC's "Trading Spaces," to kick-off the holiday season for Chicagoans.

The "Touch of Holiday Cheer" program is being launched on Nov. 17, 2006 by Pay By Touch and Davis, who will visit a local Jewel Osco grocery store to surprise random shoppers by paying for their groceries.

"The weekend before Thanksgiving is a fun but frenetic time for the chef of the house," said Paige Davis, actress, singer and former host TLC's "Trading Spaces." "I have teamed with Pay By Touch and Jewel Osco today to bring a touch of holiday cheer to busy shoppers and show them ways to save time getting ready for the big day."

Davis also has assigned "holiday elves" to bring goodwill from Pay By Touch to 12 more Chicagoland Jewel Osco grocery stores on Saturday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov. 19 and again on Saturday Dec. 9 and Sunday Dec. 10.

Shoppers aren't the only ones benefiting this season. As a part of the "Touch of Holiday Cheer" program, Pay By Touch will make a $10,000 donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

"We are so grateful for the holiday contributions being made through this partnership with Pay By Touch," said Ruth Igoe, a spokeswoman for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. "This time of year is so important. With support from companies like Pay By Touch, we can do so much more for those who need our help."

All new customers who have enrolled in and/or used the Pay By Touch(TM) biometric payment system anytime between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2006 will be entered into a drawing to win a year's worth of groceries (a $10,000 value) in January 2007.

"We are extremely pleased to be working with Pay By Touch to bring this exciting program to our shoppers as they gear up for the holiday season's biggest meal," said Lauri Sanders, Director of Public Affairs, Jewel Osco. "We know our shoppers will enjoy meeting Paige and her holiday elves as they bring a touch of holiday cheer to Chicago."

About Greater Chicago Food Depository

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's food bank, is a not-for-profit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 600 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to almost a half-million adults and children every year. Last year, the Food Depository distributed more than 40 million pounds of nonperishable food and fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of more than 84,000 meals every day. Innovative training programs and initiatives developed by the Food Depository also work to provide men, women and children with the tools necessary to break their individual cycles of poverty. For more information, log onto
http://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/ or call 773-247-FOOD.