T-Mobile Huddle Up

Cone partnered with T-Mobile USA to develop T-Mobile Huddle Up, a company-wide, national community outreach program connecting kids, primarily from single-parent families in high-need, urban communities, to positive people, places and programs. T-Mobile Huddle Up focuses on the critical need for safe, quality afterschool programs.

Since the program launch in 2006, 20 T-Mobile Huddle Up Days have been held in 14 cities nationwide, during which 3,450 employees volunteered more than 27,600 hours to create and improve afterschool facilities and community centers. To integrate T-Mobile Huddle Up into T-Mobile’s corporate sponsorships with the NBA, Cone partnered with T-Mobile on an integration initiative for the 2007 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, part of NBA All-Star. T-Mobile developed a robust recognition program that rewarded 6,000 Las Vegas students with a once-in-a-lifetime experience, filling the lower bowl of the Thomas and Mack arena in Las Vegas, NV for the game.

To create awareness about the need for quality afterschool programs, T-Mobile supported the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool Challenge event in 2006 and 2007. The annual event, held in Washington D.C., provides afterschool program leaders and youth the opportunity to meet with members of Congress to lobby for increased funding for quality afterschool programs. T-Mobile sponsored two youth to attend the event and meet with their local senators.

T-Mobile Huddle Up resulted included:

• Thirty-five employee events at facilities in more than 25 communities
• More than 3,500 employees dedicating more than 27,600 hours to improve afterschool spaces
• Increased employee morale: participating employees felt better about working for T-Mobile, 4.6 on scale of 5.0
• Integration with other T-Mobile departments: Marketing, Retail, HR and Finance. Huddle Up is a regular part of T-Mobile’s NBA sponsorship during NBA All-Star Weekend
• T-Mobile enabled nonprofit partner, City Year, to create and pilot T-Mobile Afterschool, an afterschool curriculum taught by City Year corps members in 17 states
• To date, the program has garnered more than 14.7 million media impressions and 4 PR awards