Keep Scottsdale Beautiful Project Uses Recycled Material from Your Shoes for Homeless Shelter’s Basketball Court
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (PRWEB) January 21, 2015 -- KSB is encouraging the Valley to “never throw away a shoe” by spearheading the Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive in conjunction with Super Bowl XLIX. Shoes will be recycled into a resurface material for a basketball court at Family Promise, the only homeless shelter in Scottsdale.
KSB’s mission is to engage the community in service to promote a clean, green and sustainable Scottsdale. This includes reusing and recycling any and all used shoes. While many of us recycle plastic, cans and glass, shoes are often thrown away. However, shoes in a landfill can take up to 80 years to decompose.
American Textile Recycling Service has placed nearly 100 Shoe Recyclers throughout Scottsdale to collect shoe donations. Every pair generates revenue to finance the shelter’s basketball court. Locally owned Flex Ground will oversee the construction.
Everyone can participate. Currently, businesses, retailers and various venues have set up collection bins in and around Scottsdale. Bring in your old shoes, new shoes and worn out shoes, any and all shoes to these participating locations: Sun Run, Prestige Cleaners, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale Insurance, Lifetime Fitness, Scottsdale Leadership Club, Scottsdale Public Libraries and Republic Services.
Kicking the shoe drive into high gear is Fan Fest Scottsdale – Home of the ESPN Live Broadcast, January 26 through February 1, where fun, music, food and celebrities all come together to celebrate the week before the Big Game. KSB will host a booth where everyone is encouraged and welcome to come join in the fun and drop off their shoes.
The shoe counting ceremony will take place on Wednesday, February 11 on the Scottsdale Community College football field. All shoes that have been collected will be transported to the football field and counted by volunteers – all 49,000 of them! This exciting event will shine light on the importance of recycling and sustainability while also lending support to Family Promise, who is doing so much to assist families experiencing traumatic and trying times as they struggle to get on their feet.
Keep Scottsdale Beautiful promotes individual responsibility and encourages volunteers, together with local civic organizations, government officials, corporations and individuals, to address local quality of life issues. Keep Scottsdale Beautiful is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3; and an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and partners with the City of Scottsdale. KSB’s principles include protecting the environment; beautifying public spaces; reduce, reusing, recycling; education; and helping fellow citizens maintain the character and heritage of the community.
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.
In keeping with the recycling and sustainability theme movement, Scottsdale Community College in partnership with KSB has established a $2,500 scholarship to the Maricopa Community College student who creates a work of art using old, recycled shoes. The shoe artwork will be displayed in a public area at Rio Salado Conference Center March of this year. Students must be enrolled in Maricopa Community Colleges and use the scholarship at Scottsdale Community College.
For more information on the Keep Scottsdale Beautiful Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive visit http://keepscottsdalebeautiful.org/super-scottsdale-shoe-drive/.
Sponsors of the Super Scottsdale Shoe Drive include: American Textile Recycling Services, 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.
ABOUT AMERICAN RECYCLE TEXTILE SERVICES
American Textile Recycling Service (ATRS) is the nation’s fastest growing textile recycler, and an official recycling partner of the Scottsdale Shoe Drive. Its socially responsible business model provides free textile recycling solutions for the public, job stimulation worldwide and much-needed funding for worthy local charities. Easy, convenient ATRS Recyclers are available throughout Phoenix, Tucson and Tempe, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Atlanta, Oklahoma, and Southern California. ATRS is committed to keeping textile waste from local landfills and promoting a greener tomorrow. For press inquires contact pr (at) atrsonline (dot)com.
Claudia Kunkel, Ideas Collide Marketing Communications, http://www.ideascollide.com, +1 (480) 220-5400, [email protected]
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