On the heels of layoffs that left a reported 900 employees without jobs, AOL and the Huffington Post on Monday announced that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone will join the company as an advisor on volunteer efforts and philanthropy.
HuffPo and AOL also announced several new hires, as well as a "30-Day Service Challenge," which will encourage staffers to volunteer within their communities.
Stone's formal title is "strategic impact advisor, and he will get some AOL equity as part of the deal, according to All Things D's Peter Kafka.
Stone will advise the Huffington Post on social impact and cause-based initiatives, and will develop a platform that will help people get involved in charity efforts in their communities. He will also do outreach to encourage other companies to amp up their philanthropic efforts, and create a video series spotlighting companies at the forefront of philanthropy and corporate responsibility, AOL said.
"The definition of success is changing as we begin to understand the value of helping others. Arianna and Tim share my vision for aligning corporate resources toward meaningful change," Stone said in a statement. "My goal in partnering with AOL and The Huffington Post Media Group is ambitious but vitally important. Together we will rally companies to think about new ways of doing business, share best practices, and strive for positive impact at all levels - from global to local."
The "30-Day Challenge," meanwhile will encourage workers to volunteer their time, from the LA Food Bank to New York Cares. Arianna Huffington and Tim Armstrong will teach a class to New York City school children today at Urban Academy of Arts and Letters in Brooklyn, and AOL will donate $50,000 to the Citizen Schools program. The effort leads up to AOL's "Monster Help Day" on May 20, a company-wide day of service.
Despite laying off nearly 1,000 people last week, AOL made some announcements about new hires - 17 in total. John Montorio was named Culture and Entertainment Editor and Howard Fineman is now Editorial Director of The Huffington Post Media Group, among others.
HuffPo and AOL also announced that its local site, Patch.com, will expand its coverage to two underserved areas of Newark, NJ.
"Bringing Patch to Newark is an exciting next step in informing, engaging, and inspiring our community with the news and information they need every day," said Mayor Cory Booker. "I'm thrilled to welcome Patch to our neighborhoods and I'm certain the sites will be a terrific asset for everyone who lives, works, volunteers, and raises families here. Information helps build communities, and bringing Patch to Newark will be a great thing for our city."
The integration of AOL and HuffPo also started today, about a month after their $315 million acquisition deal was announced. Widgets on AOL.com will now highlight the most popular articles and blog posts from HuffPo and vice versa. HuffPo will also feature hyper-local content from Patch.