147,000 Teens Show Their School Spirit By Going Green This Spring

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147,000 Teens Show Their School Spirit By Going Green This Spring

The ‘Increase Your Green’ campaign from DoSomething.org and sponsored by HP activates teens around environmental initiatives in their schools; Winners are announced

New York, NY (May 13, 2010)- DoSomething.org announced the winners of the 3rd annual ‘Increase Your Green’ campaign, which mobilized over 147,000 teens to green their schools nationwide. Launched with spokesperson Nick Cannon and sponsored by HP, the campaign encouraged teens to find innovative ways to conserve energy and reduce waste at their school. Between Feb. 1 and Earth Day on April 22, teens from over 1,300 schools across the country recycled over 650,000 lbs of paper and 330,000 lbs of plastic, and saved 5.6 million kWh of energy, enough energy to power over 500 American homes for a whole year, through the ‘Increase Your Green’ campaign. “At Do Something, we know that teens can lead today,” said DoSomething.org’s Melanie Stevenson, “The overwhelming participation in the Increase Your Green campaign and the innovative nature of teens' projects affirm that there is no issue too large to be tackled by the creative power of young people.” Spokesperson Nick Cannon was joined by other celebrity advocates including Ludacris, Benji and Joel Madden, Angela Kinsey and Matt Prokop from Furry Vengeance, and cast members from the Vampire Diaries to encourage participation in the campaign and stress the importance of ongoing environmental initiatives. "I'm so thrilled to be part of an initiative that encouraged thousands of young people to actively help the environment," said The Vampire Diaries star Sara Canning. "I am so impressed by the amazing and innovative projects the teens created. It's inspiring to see the difference they're making." A panel of judges including Nick Cannon, photographer and humanitarian Nigel Barker, environmentalist Philippe Cousteau Jr., and other key environmental executives evaluated the projects based on creativity, innovation, and overall environmental impact. Creative uses of technology by the students also played a significant role in their decisions. “HP supports students who are applying technology to create solutions for today’s environmental issues,” said Tracey Trachta, Executive Director, Strategic Marketing Initiatives, Personal Systems Group, HP. “The Increase Your Green campaign inspired students to take action and we encourage them to continue spreading awareness and sharing ideas to make our global community greener.” Out of thousands of amazing projects, one Grand Prize winner has been chosen to receive $5,000 to continue their greening efforts, with three additional schools being awarded $1,000 grants for their school programs. All winning projects also receive an HP Artist Edition notebook to help carry out their plans. THE WINNERS $5,000 Grand Prize Winner: San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara, CA • Students championed teen leadership on environmental issues • Increased community involvement through partnerships with local schools, universities, and the SB Environmental Council • Developed 2-yr plan for solar energy on campus • Collaborated with special needs students on green projects, donating money raised from recycling programs to the special needs program at their school Abraham Lincoln High School, Denver, CO • Increased awareness for climate change and recycling through class presentations • Installed motion sensors to decrease energy waste and set up website for environmental efforts including green videos and tips, school recycling schedule, and Increase Your Green goals • Distributed and maintained recycling bins in every classroom and created a school supply recycling system for graduating seniors • Planted a school garden Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC • Hosted Recyclathon, No Impact Week, and Crush the Plastic week events effectively reducing carbon impact and raising awareness • Collected over 100 lbs of recyclable materials including old cell phones, batteries, clothing, sneakers, and ink cartridges • Started a community garden growing sustainable food for school and community • Created a Green Blog and Facebook group to coordinate efforts, highlighting videos for all projects Emerson Junior High School, Davis, CA • Created an elective class for 7th graders focused primarily on increasing environmental efforts and recycling • Planted fruit trees and a drought tolerant flower garden on the school's campus—donated lemons from trees to local food banks • Decreased energy and water waste through light switch memos and a new filtered water dispenser • Hosted recycling drive, winter coat collection, and “reuse a shoe” drive • Created green website to share ideas Participation in the campaign was up almost 100 percent from last year, where 74,800 students got involved in the 8-week campaign to green their schools. Many of the same students returned to the campaign after starting eco-friendly projects in their school during the ‘Increase Your Green’ competition in previous years. Visit www.IncreaseYourGreen.org to view the winning schools’ projects. About DoSomething.org DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US that helps young people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate two million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: teenagers who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. Plug in at www.DoSomething.org.