Contact:

Will Fessenden, Encompass Marketing

will@encompassmarketing.com

(207) 755-9445 ext 101

(207) 632-8926 (day of event)

Celebrating Learning That Matters:

Students and Educators Convene at Regional Summit at UNH, Durham Campus

Focus on Climate Change and Other Environmental Issues

• Hundreds of New England students share community problem-solving experiences
• Cameron Wake, UNH, keynotes the Summit at 1:35 pm Tuesday, May 25
• Great photo ops of K-12 students start at 2 pm Tuesday, Memorial Union Building

Durham, NH—Hundreds of K-12 students from across New England will gather at the University of New Hampshire, Durham Campus, May 25-26, 2010, for the 10th annual KIDS Consortium Student Summit on Service-Learning. They will celebrate their work solving real problems faced by their schools and communities through service-learning, a teaching method that links community projects with academic studies. The event’s theme, “Green Thumbs” Up for Green Schools, is part of a Green Schools initiative that also funded 35 mini-grants awarded to New England schools.

Attendees will come from more than 30 schools across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to this unique event to share their results and ideas for future work. The Summit’s reach expands each year. The 2010 Summit will mark the first time that New York schools have participated.

From elementary students who established a school-wide composting program, to middle school students who worked to reduce invasive species in a local wetland, to high school students who started a school garden, youth teams throughout New England have made their schools and communities more environmentally sustainable. These student teams will all give oral presentations and display exhibits at the Green Schools Student Summit this year.

Through these service-learning projects and the opportunity to present at the Student Summit, youth learn to be communicators, problem-solvers and active members of their community. This year, major corporate sponsors are State Farm Insurance and Downeast Energy.

“It’s exciting to see so many young people thinking about the environment and engaged in driving positive action to make their schools greener. These young leaders are not just our future—they’re also our present,” said Marvin Rosenblum, founder of KIDS Consortium.

Seventh and eighth grade students at Lisbon Central School in Lisbon, Conn., have been planning the Summit throughout the school year as one of their own service-learning projects, with KIDS Consortium as their community partner.

The event’s Green Schools theme encourages participants to work together to make their schools and communities more environmentally friendly. The keynote speaker, Cameron Wake, is a research associate professor with the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at UNH. He will speak about climate and environmental change and how the actions of individuals can make a difference. Using this theme, students and educators at the Summit will have fun showcasing their work, reflecting on their experiences and learning new skills.

KIDS Consortium, based in Auburn, Me., works with teachers, administrators and students to involve students in addressing real challenges faced by their communities. Through service-learning, students identify, research and work to address local community needs. With guidance from KIDS, teachers match those projects to school curricula, providing a powerful hands-on learning experience that improves the community and brings academics to life. For more information, visit www.kidsconsortium.org.

In addition to State Farm and Downeast Energy, grants from Hannaford, Wheelabrator, Walmart, Kennebunk Savings Bank, UBS, Poland Spring Water, the Horizon Foundation, the Sam L. Cohen Foundation, L.L. Bean, United Way of York County, Lee Auto Malls, R. H. Reny, Inc., and the Learn and Serve America Program at the Corporation for National and Community Service make this year’s Green Schools Summit possible

Last year, Stanford secured $25.5 million in US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Funds for the revitalization of more than 78 housing properties in Stanford’s portfolio, including properties in Maine, Connecticut, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. The funds will help create hundreds of jobs in Maine because most of the contracts will be given to local individuals and vendors for the work that includes repairing/replacing roofs, making ADA upgrades to the parking lot and common areas, elevator system updates, replacing windows and repairing or replacing siding.

And where possible, the upgrades will be completed with hundreds of yards of carpets made from recycled materials and hundreds of gallons of Sherwin-Williams paint with the GreenSure® designation that are designed and manufactured to reduce environmental impact and meet or exceed the most stringent regulatory requirements.

“The residents are going to see big changes to their properties that will make them more comfortable and attractive,” said Rosa Scarcelli, owner and president of Stanford Management. “But they’ll be doubly pleased to know that we’re using materials that don’t harm the environment. And for a major upgrade like this where we’ll be using lots of paint and materials, it’s good to know that companies like Sherwin-Williams offer products that are eco-friendly and meet high performance standards as well.”

For example, Sherwin-Williams Harmony Interior Latex Coating has zero-VOCs (volatile organic compounds emitted by some products that have adverse health effects) and carries the company’s GreenSure® designation. It is also GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality Certified® and GreenGuard Certified for Children and Schools.

Furthermore the paint comes in containers made from plastic that is 100% recycled from post-consumer resin. The label contains 75% recovered fiber and 25% post-consumer waste, and is
printed using soy ink. The containers are manufactured at four plants around the US to lower the distance from plant to store.

“Sherwin-Williams leads the industry in the development of environmentally responsible products through our GreenSure® designation, which takes into consideration product performance and environmental factors,” said Steve Revnew of Sherwin Williams. “However, it is important to us that we offer products to our customers that are third-party tested and certified through the GreenGuard Environmental Institute. These GreenGuard certified products meet or exceed the most stringent green building specifications.”

“It is refreshing for us to work with a company like Stanford Management who understand the importance of using products that help protect the environment for future generations. Sherwin Williams is committed to providing the products, product knowledge and training to help ensure Stanford Management meets it’s goal of going green.” said Richard Alley of the Belfast Sherwin Williams.

About Stanford Management: Stanford Management is the largest woman owned affordable housing provider in the United States and one of the largest women owned companies in the state of Maine. It operates nearly 60 affordable housing facilities in Maine from Madawaska to Old Orchard Beach and provides housing for more than 5,000 families and individuals, as well as properties in three other states. In 2008, Affordable Housing Magazine named Stanford as one of the top 10 affordable housing providers in the country. Rosa Scarcelli, a native of Wilton, Maine, is owner and President. For more information see www.stanfordmanagement.com or go to http://pitch.pe/7464
For more information on Sherwin-Williams eco-friendly products, see www.swgreenspecs.com

CONTACT: For Stanford Management, Dennis Bailey, Savvy, Inc., 207-347-6077

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: entreverge Director Johann Sabbath

Phone (207) 807-7073 cell

Email: johann.sabbath@gmail.com

Portland, ME – Portland PROPEL unveiled entreverge, a bold new project to celebrate and support local entrepreneurs.

The inaugural entreverge Awards, a collaborative project led by PROPEL in partnership with the Portland Regional Chamber and numerous local businesses, business groups, non-profits, and social networks, will accelerate economic growth by connecting entrepreneurs and business innovators with resources and relationships within Portland’s local business community.

“The launch of entreverge comes at a time when the economy is starving for positive energy and when national trends toward innovation and entrepreneurship are amplifying louder than ever”, said Mike Carey, Chair of PROPEL and auctioneer with Tranzon Auction Properties.

Nominations for the entreverge Awards will be fielded at www.entreverge.com from May 5th to 31st.  Nominees will be considered by PROPEL on a number of criteria, including the nominees’ scalable vision for their business and their commitment to a triple bottom line—the people, place, and prosperity of Maine.

Five entreverge Award-winners will receive face time with Portland’s leading business figures and a package of pro bono consultation, services, and products volunteered by local artistic, finance, IT, legal, marketing, and web experts and other business service providers.

Dana Hutchins, owner of Image Works Internet Business Solutions, is one of the local business leaders who is volunteering consulting services to the winners.  “When I was approached about getting involved, “ remarked Dana, “I thought is was a great opportunity to give back to the business community and meet exciting new clients.”

“This is a critical time for collaboration and getting the resources of Portland’s business community behind its future leaders,” said Will Thomas, an entreverge organizer and founder of the Portland-based triathlon company Tri-Maine. 

The entreverge Awards will culminate with a celebration on Thursday evening, June 25th at Port City Music Hall in downtown Portland with live performances by Adam and the Waxmen and the Jason Spooner Band. Tickets can be purchased through the Portland Regional Chamber by calling 207-772-2811.

Recognizing the need to celebrate risk and innovation in today’s economic climate, PROPEL began planning entreverge this winter when approached by the University of Maine Farmington and Swardlick Marketing Group.  Six months later—after comprehensive feedback from many of Portland’s business leaders and social entrepreneurs—entreverge has arrived.

“I’ve spent the last few months meeting with business leaders and organizational heads throughout Greater Portland,” said entreverge Director Johann Sabbath, “trying to figure out the greatest potential value that PROPEL could bring to the community.  Organizing entreverge became the answer.”

Portland PROPEL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering leadership and education among Greater Portland’s young blue, white, green, and no-collar business community. In 2006, PROPEL was inspired by the Realize!Maine network and formed as an affiliate of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.

entreverge is made possible by Premier Sponsors Bangor Savings Bank, Swardlick Marketing Group, and the University of Maine Farmington and Premier Media Sponsor Mainebiz.

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Cell phones, car and home chargers, collected in Goodwill stores are being recycled by ReCellular, a national company from Dexter, Michigan. This partnership between the Goodwill and ReCellular is a fitting one. Both organizations look to help the planet and environment by recycling and reusing items to help eliminate waste.

A phone that is sent to ReCellular will be broken down and sorted by its various parts. A data eraser will eliminate all personal data and information. For those of us who don’t trust a company to do it, we can visit the wirelessrecycling.com website to get instructions on how to do it ourselves. Once the cell phone is dissected and tested, it is combined with other cell phone parts to make a new phone. Half of ReCellular’s phones are sent to domestic resellers, the other half to developing countries in Africa, South America, and Asia. ReCellular is on schedule to resell 4 million phones in 2007.

How is my donation benefiting Goodwill? The funds received for cell phone donations help fund Goodwill’s human service programs in Maine and New Hampshire for people with disabilities.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with a nationally recognized company who believes in recycling, much like Goodwill,” says Randy Finamore, Director of Retail Services at Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. “Expanding our services for our donors and shoppers is another way we can reach out to our communities and bring customers what they are looking for in a Goodwill store,” says Finamore.

Goodwill is a human service organization and a net-work of nonprofit businesses. Revenue generated in Goodwill’s retail stores help fund programs for people with disabilities. For more information visit www.ginne.org.