GREENSBORO, NC (February 15, 2011) – In a celebration of Greensboro’s selection as one of the best cities in America by Reader’s Digest, Greensboro City Council is set to donate $10,000 to two community nonprofits. The City earned the cash from the publication after receiving online “cheers” from the Greensboro community as part of Reader’s Digest's “We Hear You America” campaign.

“Reader’s Digest has confirmed what we have long known, that the City of Greensboro is one of the best cities in the country,” says Greensboro Mayor William H. Knight. “We gladly accept the $10,000 and look forward to immediately re-investing it into our community.”

Council plans to accept a resolution during its February 15 meeting approving the distribution of the $10,000 evenly between the Greensboro Chapter of the American Red Cross, in support of its “Salute to Heroes” celebration, and the United Way of Greater Greensboro. This contribution to the community comes after receiving $1,000 from Reader’s Digest on January 24 during the publication’s 100 cities in 100 days RV tour. City Council voted to divide the $1,000 evenly between the Interactive Resource Center and Urban Ministry.

Greensboro was selected as the runner-up in the category of cities with a population between 250,000 and 499,999. In addition to the cash winnings, Greensboro will be one of just ten cities featured in May’s “Best of America” issue of Reader’s Digest.

According to the publication, the We Hear You America campaign tallied 12.5 million online cheers and drew participation from over 9,000 cities, towns, villages and boroughs throughout the country. Grand Marais, Michigan, scored the $40,000 grand prize after receiving 1.28 million cheers.

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