Quirky social enterprise hosts month long challenge to help students close digital divide.

Philadelphia, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/14/2014 --Promise or Pay, an online platform that prompts people to keep their promises or donate to charity, is challenging the world to turn off their smartphones for one day in the month of May. This initiative, called #POPMAY, aims to help students in Benin, Africa gain access to the Internet and receive comprehensive computer classes, while raising awareness about the global digital divide. To participate in the challenge, promisors must sign up on promiseorpay.com and announce their participation via social media.

Promise or Pay founder Jay Boolkin had this to say about the #POPMAY challenge, “Advancements in technology and the internet have allowed us to connect to each other constantly, yet ironically, people will pay more attention to their phones than friends, family or possibly someone in need. We hope to use this phenomenon to get people thinking about how they interact with their fellow man while thinking about how their lives would be different without access to technology.”

Through the launch of #POPMAY, Promise or Pay hopes to accomplish the following goals:

Inspire large numbers of people to disconnect from their phones and spend a day reconnecting with friends & family.

Raise $100,000 to donate to Promise or Pay's partnered charity, Cercle Social. Cercle Social is an organization dedicated to helping youth in Benin, Africa access to the resources they need to obtain a higher education and improved quality of life. All donations would go towards Cercle Social’s Computer Lab Project, which provides comprehensive computer classes and ongoing access to technology for students at Tori Agouako high school.

Raise awareness about the global digital divide and inspire people around the world to help more disadvantaged youth gain the opportunity to learn, grow and compete in the 21st century.

ABOUT PROMISE OR PAY
Promise or Pay is an online platform that helps users to keep their promises by encouraging them to wager money for charitable donations. Since its launch in late December 2013, over $4000 worth of promises have been made on the website, and over $2000 have been raised for charity. For more information please visit http://promiseorpay.com.

#POPMAY Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tA7k-yXRis

CONTACT DETAILS:
Jay Boolkin
Founder
Email: jay.boolkin@promiseorpay.com
Ph. +61 401389442; +885 78292405
Website: http://www.promiseorpay.com