Keep Scottsdale Beautiful Resurfaces Basketball Court for Scottsdale Homeless Shelter Using Recycled Rubber from Donated Shoes
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (PRWEB) July 08, 2015 -- Construction is currently underway for a brand-new rubberized basketball court surface for Family Promise, Scottsdale’s only homeless shelter. The new surface is made partially from the rubber of shoes collected during the Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive, Keep Scottsdale Beautiful’s effort to collect, recycle and reuse old shoes that would have likely ended up in a landfill.
During the Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive, Keep Scottsdale Beautiful, with help from partners such as American Textile Recycling Services (ATRS), collected more than 21,000 unwanted shoes from a variety of sources, including several donation boxes throughout Scottsdale and the Greater Phoenix metro area. Donated shoes that could not be reused were shredded and recycled into materials that help make up the new basketball court surface for Family Promise.
“With more than 200 million shoes ending up in landfills each year, Keep Scottsdale Beautiful feels it is important to educate the public that all shoes can be recycled or reused,” said Christine Irish, chairperson of Keep Scottsdale Beautiful. “We are thrilled that we can help reduce Scottsdale’s carbon footprint while helping an organization such as Family Promise.”
Locally owned Flexground is installing the new rubber surface, which is designed to cushion joints during play and endure extreme Arizona heat better than Family Promise’s previous aged, cracked and unlined cement basketball court surface.
Family Promise is an emergency shelter dedicated to keeping homeless families together as they seek self-sufficiency. In addition to shelter, Family Promise also offers day care, employment assistance, counseling and other services to help hundreds of individuals and families get back on their feet. Family Promise director Ted Taylor says the resurfaced basketball court will help provide a safe place for center residents to play and relax as they work toward greater stability.
“Keep Scottsdale Beautiful is truly blessing our families with the brand-new sport court made out of shredded rubber,” said Taylor. “The citizens of Scottsdale made this possible by donating literally tons of used shoes. Now our families will enjoy a basketball court without holes, with actual lines, and a smooth, beautiful surface. We are so grateful to the Keep Scottsdale Beautiful team for caring enough to make a huge difference for the homeless families we serve.”
The Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive is part of Keep Scottsdale Beautiful’s effort to create a more clean, green and more sustainable Scottsdale. The 501c3 non-profit organization, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, helms several clean-up efforts per year and supports organizations such as Adopt-A-Road and the zero-waste WM Phoenix Open.
Support for Keep Scottsdale Beautiful’s Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive was provided by American Textile Recycling Services, Flexground, Scottsdale Insurance Company, Cox Communications and Scottsdale Community College.
ABOUT KEEP SCOTTSDALE BEAUTIFUL
Keep Scottsdale Beautiful (KSB) is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization and registered affiliate of Keep America Beautiful dedicated to engaging the community in service to promote a clean, green and sustainable Scottsdale. KSB’s pillars are: Beautify public places – Reduce, reuse, recycle – Educate the public – Protect the environment – Help fellow citizens. For more information, visit http://www.keepscottsdalebeautiful.org.
ABOUT FAMILY PROMISE
Family Promise provides a day center, employment assistance, counseling and other services for families in the emergency shelter program. The shelter focuses on keeping parents and children together while the family seeks permanent housing and financial stability. The family center is in need of an outdoor community area where families can come together to play and relax in a safe environment. The basketball court will be a place where families can have fun while working hard to improve their future. For more information, visit http://www.familypromiseaz.org.
Genevieve Rice, Keep Scottsdale Beautiful, http://www.keepscottsdalebeautiful.org, +1 6232210819, [email protected]
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