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Nuhook Inc., a Knoxville-based online dating service launched last fall, is sponsoring a contest to benefit Knoxville Habitat for Humanity.

The contest, which begins on Feb. 1, invites University of Tennessee Greek chapters to participate in an effort to generate up to $ 9,000 in donations.

Nuhook and the fraternities and sororities will aim to start a membership drive that will provide the winning group a donation from Nuhook to use toward a house that the Greek community constructs for Habitat for Humanity every year.

Nuhook, meanwhile, has created a new online social community platform that the company hopes will redefine online dating.

Nuhook was founded to combat the “blind date” awkwardness. On Nuhook, users search and tag people that they already know. There are no profiles on Nuhook, and the user’s identity is kept secret from the other person unless the interest is mutual.

“Nuhook is the best of both worlds,” graduate student Denise Koessler said. “You get to avoid rejection by using an online service, but you already know the people you are matched with. Problem solved.”

To participate, visit www.nuhook.com from Feb. 1-20.

Knoxville Habitat for Humanity since 1985 has been creating affordable housing — partnering withindividuals, corporations and faith groups to build about 40…………… continues on Knoxville News Sentinel

SPRINGFIELD—

— If Shannon Showalter turned to the Internet to find love today, she’d like to know whether the men posting profiles had undergone background checks.

“It has become such a popular thing, and there are a lot of weirdos out there,” said Showalter, a 32-year-old from northwest suburban Lakewood who met the man she married on Match.com.

It’s that lingering need for some measure of assurance that lawmakers in Illinois and across the nation are seeking to address.

Legislation that’s surfaced in Springfield would require online dating services operating in Illinois to post prominently and repeatedly on their websites whether they do background checks on clients.

If approved, the Illinois measure would go beyond disclosure laws already in place in a handful of states like Texas, where Gov. Rick Perry signed a similar bill last year before launching his Republican presidential bid.

The issue of safety in online dating is more than academic, a point buttressed b…………… continues on Chicago Tribune