(CAMARILLO, Calif) - Zindagi Games, a Camarillo-based video gaming company, has challenged three local charities, FOOD Share, Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo and RAIN Transitional Living Center, to raise $100,000 before December 31, 2011 as part of their 2011 Zindagi Challenge. In addition, Zindagi is encouraging other businesses to join in the effort with the intent being to rally Ventura County employers and their employees to “give where they live.”

Umrao Mayer and George Simmons, the principals of Zindagi Games, have agreed to match dollar for dollar raised, up to $100,000, by the three Ventura County nonprofits between now and the end of the year. Having supported each charity individually in the past, Zindagi Games chose to collaborate with the three agencies this year in an effort to make a bigger impact and achieve greater results.

At Zindagi, in addition to creating popular titles for the PS3 video gaming system, the company is committed to influencing positive change within Ventura County. Zindagi’s hope is that their 2nd annual $100,000 donation challenge will encourage other corporations to support local non-profits and ultimately, create a year-round cycle of generosity and giving.

“Zindagi is sharing their corporate giving philosophy and challenging others to follow suit,” said Bonnie Weigel, FOOD Share CEO. “We invite all Ventura County residents and businesses to be a part of the Zindagi $100,000 Challenge and know that by working together, we can make our community a better place to live.”

The Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) is supporting the Zindagi Challenge by processing all donations made through their website: vccf.org/zindagi

About the Zindagi $100,000 Challenge nonprofits:

About FOOD Share
The food bank distributing millions of pounds of food each year to those in need throughout Ventura County, FOOD Share collects and receives food year-round, distributing through more than 150 pantry partner agencies throughout Ventura County, including Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oak View, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Somis, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura.
FOOD Share provides food to more than 74,500 people each month countywide through its partner agencies and multiple programs. Programs include the Senior Brown Bag that provides supplemental nutrition to nearly 2,000 low income seniors, home delivered meals and supplemental groceries through the Oxnard and Ventura Senior Nutrition Programs and, the Kids’ Farmers’ Markets, offering nutrition education, healthy recipe preparation and taste testing and a farmers’ market free fresh produce “shopping experience.”

In 2011, FOOD Share partnered with Ventura County’s Human Services Agency to provide expanded CalFresh enrollment assistance. CalFresh, formerly called food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program that provides supplemental nutrition assistance to eligible Ventura County residents.
For more information: call (805) 983-7100 or go to http://www.foodshare.com.

About the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo
Founded in 1967, the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide programs for young people between the ages of 6 and 21 that will inspire them to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. Since we first opened our doors more than 40 years ago, the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo has continued to offer local children and youth a safe place to learn and grow; ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals; and life-enhancing programs, and character-development experiences.

Serving over 300 children per day, our wide range of programs and services promote and enhance the development of children and youth by instilling a sense of competence and belonging. Our programs encompass the following three focus areas: academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship. www.bgccam.org

About RAIN Transitional Living Center
RAIN Transitional Living Center has successfully served over 1,800 homeless Ventura County residents, almost half of them children, over the last decade in a safe, home-like environment. RAIN TLC provides a full range of services such as meals, job search assistance, counseling, tutoring, transportation, and other vital services families need to attain permanent housing and long-term self-sufficiency. It is a harsh reality, in these troubled economic times, that full-time employment does not insure against the possibility of homelessness, but over and over the story has been repeated - give someone a hand up and they will do the rest. To learn more about RAIN, visit www.raincommunities.org or call (805) 389-3308.

About Zindagi Games
Zindagi Games is a video game development studio located in Camarillo, CA. They have created titles for the PS3 Move such as "Sports Champions" and “Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest.” At Zindagi, they are greatly aware of the current needs in the community and throughout the world; they strive to confront these struggles and produce change, starting with where they live. It is Zindagi’s hope to engage and encourage more corporations to become involved with local charities and non-profits, thereby creating a cycle of generosity and giving that truly endures. www.zindagigames.com