October 24, 2011 (Baileys Harbor, WI) – The Ridges Sanctuary received a green gift from Cellcom in the amount of $1500 at a presentation at their facility today.
The Ridges Sanctuary is a 1,600-acre natural area in Door County. It’s the oldest private nature preserve in the state. The sanctuary is open to the public year-round, and features native wildflowers along its five miles of rustic trails and bridges.
"The green gift we’ve received from Cellcom will help support No Family Left Inside,” said Steve Leonard, executive director at The Ridges Sanctuary. “This is a series of programs designed to reconnect parents to their childhood experiences with nature and to help them introduce their children to those same types of experiences –exploring creeks, catching frogs or fireflies or just lying on your back in the grass watching the clouds.”
“Perhaps one parent described our programming goals best when she said, ‘we will need to look for more events like this–after all part of a “natural living” is investing in the sanity that communing with your family outdoors provides,’” said Leonard.
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.
Pictured in photo:
Front row from left:
Rob Van Gemert - Cellcom
Carol Schuster - The Ridges
Back row from left:
Roy Thilly - The Ridges Board President
Becca Berger - Door County Library
Steve Leonard - Director The Ridges
Matt Luders - Door County YMCA