October 24, 2011 (Waupaca, WI) – CAP Services received a green gift from Cellcom in the amount of $1500 at a presentation at their facility in Waupaca today.

CAP Services is a locally-designated community action agency aimed at increasing individual and community capacity. The funds donated by Cellcom will support the Waupaca Fresh Start Program that provides at-risk high school dropouts age 18-24 with the education, skills and opportunity to become engaged, productive members of the community.

“Cellcom’s green gift will allow us to expand the scope of our environmental stewardship activities of our community service component,” said Faith Edgren. “We’re hoping to increase from about 15 to 120 hours per member per year with several programs and partnerships being added in the community.”

The Waupaca Fresh Start program serves 20 youth per year.

A total of $30,950 was given out to 17 green organizations in Cellcom’s service area.

Since 2004 Cellcom has offered a cell phone recycling program where customers can bring in their old or unwanted phones to be reused and recycled. Cellcom sends the phones to recyclers who in return send money to Cellcom for the materials that were saved from the phones. Cellcom has always donated this money back to local non-profits.

This is the second year that Cellcom is donating their recycling funds to green non-profit initiatives in an effort to complete the green cycle that starts with consumers being environmentally-conscious and donating their devices.

“We are constantly taking steps to become more eco-friendly as a company,” said Brighid Riordan, director of public affairs. “By dedicating our recycling money to green initiatives, Cellcom continues our longstanding commitment to the community and together we can work toward a greener tomorrow.”

Other green gifts went to non-profits throughout Cellcom’s service area and included Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (Green Bay), Preble Agriscience Natural Resources Program (Green Bay), Greater Green Bay YMCA Camp U-Nah-Li-Ya (Suring), Trees for Tomorrow (Eagle River), Friends of Mosquito Hill (New London),  Heckrodt Wetland Reserve (Menasha), Northwoods Elementary School (Rhinelander), CAP Services (Stevens Point), Central Rivers Farmshed (Stevens Point), Woodland Dunes Nature Center (Two Rivers), Whitefish Dunes State Park (Sturgeon Bay), The Ridges Sanctuary (Bailey’s Harbor), Oconto River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Camp Tekawitha (Shawano), Crivitz High School Science Club, DC Everest School Forest (Schofield), and Marathon High School Ecology Club.

Cellcom’s recycling program has generated over $105,000 for local charities over the past seven years.