Boston School Forest and Boys & Girls Club of Portage County receive Green Gifts from Cellcom
For the Gazette
GREEN BAY – Boston School Forest and Boys & Girls Club of Portage County have been selected to receive 2021 Cellcom Green Gifts. Boston School Forest received a Green Gift in the amount of $491 to purchase equipment for sixth grade school forest classes. Boys & Girls Club of Portage County will use its $1,000 Green Gift to support its Green Thumb gardening program.
Boston School Forest is an 80-acre property that provides the youth of the Stevens Point Area School District educational opportunities. In 2021 a new renewable energy program was piloted for the sixth-grade students utilizing equipment borrowed from UW-Stevens Point. With the success of the pilot, Boston School Forest will use Cellcom’s Green Gift to purchase its own equipment to continue to facilitate the program.
“This program allows students to take part in activities which demonstrate how solar panels work and form an understanding as to why solar energy can help to reduce negative environmental impacts on Earth.
The more students know about and have positive experiences with renewable energies, the more likely they are going to seek out renewable energy resources and make energy decisions that are good for the planet in the future,” said Karla Lockman, program leader at the Boston School Forest.
The Boys & Girls Club of Portage County provides enrichment programming for youth in the community, including its Green Thumb gardening program. With its Cellcom Green Gift, raised beds will be constructed at the Berard and Plover Centers allowing for weekly gardening programming throughout the summer.
“The Green Thumb program helps our youth gain personal knowledge of plants life cycle and gardening techniques. It also increases knowledge of where their food comes from and the benefits of growing their own food,” said Kevin Quevillon, Executive Director at Boys & Girls Club of Portage County. “This hands-on experience offers an environmental experience and skills the students can use their whole life.”
A total of 25 green organizations received a share of the $30,266 in Green Gifts from Cellcom this year. The Green Gifts program uses funds generated from Cellcom’s cell phone recycling program to fund green nonprofit initiatives. Customers and community members 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’s Green Gift program completes the green cycle that starts with consumers being environmentally conscious and donating their devices.
“Over the last year there has been a boom in outdoor enthusiasm as the pandemic pushed people outdoors for recreation and wellbeing. Organizations throughout Wisconsin pave the way for people to connect with nature by preserving and enhancing natural areas, providing educational programming, and spearheading sustainability and research efforts,” said Cindy Durand, director of Public Affairs at Cellcom. “We’re proud to support the many nonprofits throughout our service area that are not only performing critical work for our environment but also inspiring the community to become environmental stewards.”
Visit Cellcom’s website for the full list of award recipients. Cellcom is proud to support organizations of all sizes, whose work is impacting the community and building a greener tomorrow. The company’s recycling program has generated $550,679 for local charities over the past 18 years.