Wells Fargo will donate $25,000 to HomeAid America?s battle against homelessness by letting trade show visitors use mobile cameras to snap ?unselfies? and post them on social media in support of the cause.

Visitors to the Wells Fargo-sponsored HomeAid ?unselfie? booth at the Pacific Coast Builder Conference in San Diego on Wednesday and Thursday can post images on HomeAid?s and Wells Fargo's social media sites to promote the battle to end homelessness. The effort shows mobile?s power to boost both engagement and donations in aid of a worthy cause.

?Given homelessness is a complex issue for many communities, we believe HomeAid?s efforts to build awareness in social media channels and creating opportunities to reach mobile audiences makes sense,? said Chris Hammond, senior vice president of corporate communications for the consumer lending group, strategic programs and content development for Wells Fargo, San Francisco.

?This way HomeAid will be able to reach both supporters from the PCBC as well as create an avenue to reach potential supporters through their mobile devices and invite them to engage and advocate for HomeAid?s cause. 

 

?Unselfies will enable HomeAid supporters who attend the PCBC to make a genuine and authentic social statement for how they will personally help tackle homelessness,? he said. ?Wells Fargo will look to amplify some of these posts after the conference.? 

Conference visitors will have difficulty missing the prominently placed unselfie booth. People will be able to use their mobile cameras to snap pictures and post them on social.

?Unselfie? is a term being used by several charitable causes to describe a photo that is a selfie for a cause, since traditionally a selfie is a self-focused photo.

The campaign fits HomeAid?s objectives because it is a fun way to spread word of mouth through social media, and get people to commit to helping homeless families with HomeAid America.

HomeAid was founded in California by the building industry in 1989 as a way to give back to the community by addressing the issue of homelessness.  

According to the National Law Center on Homelessness, each year over 3.5 million Americans experienced homelessness at some point.  Nearly 1.5 million of them were children.  

HomeAid's program identifies charities in the community working to help the homeless that need additional facilities in which to house people and provide programmatic resources such as job skills training and financial counseling, as well as physical and emotional support. 

HomeAid then finds builders who are willing to take on these projects and build them at a deep discount by enlisting their trade partners to give their time and materials as in-kind donations.

 

HomeAid has 17 chapters in 12 states, typically affiliated with the local Building Industry Association.  

These chapters of HomeAid have built over 440 housing projects over the organization's 26 year history valued at over $200 million.  These facilities have housed over 220,000 people who would otherwise have been homeless.

 

Wells Fargo, in 2014, also contributed $281.2 million to 17,100 non-profits across the U.S. and its team members volunteered 1.74 million hours.

 

?Wells Fargo has been a long-time supporter for HomeAid,? Mr. Hammond said. ?Supporting its mission is another example of our culture and care for the communities we serve.

?We hope our consistent support for HomeAid and the unselfie challenge will add up to build awareness for how people can help prevent homelessness and make a huge difference for the community,? he said.