For more information, contact:
Mary Ann Dilling, Executive Director, Fond du Lac Festivals, Inc.
Office: (920) 923-6555
E-mail: mdilling@fdlfest.com
Gloria Schmidt, Community Relations Coordinator, Fond du Lac School District
Office: (920) 906-6569
E-mail: schmidtg@fonddulac.k12.wi.us
Jeff Bentoff, AT&T Media/Public Affairs Services
Office: (414) 227-6985
E-mail: jeffrey.bentoff@att.com
Students to learn about environment, aid community recycling
Fond du Lac, WI, April 6, 2009 — Students at the Fond du Lac School District elementary schools kicked off AT&T’s* first Wisconsin phone book recycling challenge Monday as they seek to improve the environment by collecting as many outdated phone directories for recycling as possible over the next six weeks.
As part of the company’s Project ReDirectory, prizes will be provided by AT&T Real Yellow Pages to the schools that collect the most outdated phone books through May 15. The first-place school will receive $500, and the third graders at this school will win a field trip to Fond du Lac Festivals’ Walleye Weekend to build a castle made from recycled AT&T Real Yellow Pages phone books. They will also receive a free Project ReDirectory T-shirt. The second-place school will receive $350; and the third-place school will receive $150. Johnson Bus will provide the transportation for the third graders’ field trip. Waste Management will furnish the recycling containers, hauling and recycling services.
This phone book recycling challenge kicked off at Waters Elementary School at an event led by Fond du Lac Chief of Police and Walleye Weekend Co-Chair, Tony Barthuly.
“This event provides a perfect opportunity for the local schools to work with the community in an effort that positively impacts our environment,” said Cathy Daniels, Waters Elementary School Principal. “This also ties directly with the educational focus in our schools this month with Earth Day.”
The new AT&T Real Yellow Pages Fond du Lac directory cover featuring Fond du Lac Festivals’ Walleye Weekend was unveiled during the kick-off. “We’re excited about this opportunity to team up with AT&T and the Fond du Lac School District to bring a great event to Walleye Weekend, while at the same time creating an amazing opportunity to educate our children,” said Mary Ann Dilling, Executive Director of Fond du Lac Festivals, Inc.
AT&T Real Yellow Pages directories are recyclable, and the paper used to print the directories contains recycled materials. The remaining paper fiber comes from sawdust and wood chips left over from lumber processing operations. Phone books are recycled into useful products such as home insulation, drywall, cereal boxes, animal bedding, new phone books and more.
“This recycling program adds to AT&T’s numerous local recycling efforts, and we’re happy to come together with Senator Randy Hopper and local community leaders to be part of the Fond du Lac School District’s and Walleye Weekend’s first phone book recycling challenge,” said Stephanie Byrnes, AT&T area market manager.
“This is an exciting new program that will teach area children the importance of being good stewards of the environment and empower them to take an active role in the community,” said Senator Hopper (R-Fond du Lac).
In addition to giving outdated phone books to the local Fond du Lac elementary schools for this phone book recycling challenge, residents and businesses may call the AT&T Project ReDirectory hotline at 1-800-953-4400 for information about recycling outdated phone books in the Fond du Lac area.
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*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
