Talala students show the dirty paper towels after cleaning their classrooms with supplies furnished by Bounty. (Photo: Kim Schaefer)
Park Forest, IL–(ENEWSPF)–May 8, 2011. Park Forest’s Talala Elementary School was chosen to participate in Procter & Gamble Company’s Bounty brand ‘We Love Our School’ campaign. All of Talala’s 374 kindergarten through 5th grade students, teachers, and members of the PTO rolled up their sleeves on May 6 to clean their school with supplies furnished by Bounty.
According to a recent Bounty survey conducted by Wakefield Research, Inc., 94 percent of teachers believe students learn better in clean classrooms. Of the one thousand K – 9 teachers surveyed this year, only 19% of elementary and middle school classrooms are given a thorough cleaning after winter break compared to 77% of classrooms that were given a full wipe down before the school year. While spring cleaning of the schools is necessary, the supplies needed to wipe away the winter grime are far too often the responsibility of the teachers’ to purchase. Survey findings indicate that teachers are spending an average of $462 a year on cleaning supplies and learning materials out of their own pockets. The survey also found that 51% of teachers report avoiding certain in-class projects or activities as a result of insufficient cleaning supplies needed for the clean-up afterwards. These facts led Bounty to form this program with PTO Today to help alleviate some of the costs.
The ‘We Love Our School’ campaign provides thousands of schools across the country with Bounty Clean Kits consisting of paper towels and Mr. Clean environmentally friendly cleaning product. More than 25,000 parents and community volunteers have been mobilized to help provide clean, creative learning environments for children throughout the United States.
Kim Schaefer, Treasurer of Talala’s PTO, distributed supplies to each classroom where the cleaning began. Once the classrooms were spic and span, it was on to the library, computer lab, and lunch room to finish the job.
Mrs. Fritz, a second grade teacher at Talala, first gave her students a lesson in proper cleaning. While Mrs. Fritz does not believe that teachers at Talala have had the need to curtail any activities as a result of a lack of cleaning supplies, she did feel that the Bounty survey findings that teachers are spending on average of $462 per year on cleaning supplies and learning materials from their own pockets a low estimate.
When asked if people could donate cleaning supplies to the school in the future, Mrs. Fritz quickly replied ‘yes’ but added that teachers would also be grateful for donations of other school supplies such as pens, writing paper, books to read, and arts and crafts supplies.
“The clean learning environments provided through Bounty’s ‘We Love Our School’ program are needed now more than ever,” said Dave Lee, Procter & Gamble North American Bounty delivery brand manager. “Through this program, we aim to help provide clean learning environments that allow students to learn uninhibited by messes.”
“As an organization dedicated to supporting PTOs and PTAs nationwide, we see every day the many still-unmet needs in our schools and are thrilled to partner with strong brands like Bounty to encourage action in local communities,” said Tim Sullivan, Founder & President, PTO Today. “Effective parent involvement is a key part of all successful schools. We love how this program is helping parents make a difference for their schools and their teachers.”
Schools interested in taking the pledge along with Bounty can find out more by visiting the Bounty Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/Bounty) and clicking on the ‘We Love Our School’ tab.
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About Bounty
Bounty has been America’s most popular paper towel for more than 30 years. In the U.S., P&G offers the following premium two-ply paper towel products: Bounty Select-a-Size; Bounty White; Bounty Extra Soft; and Bounty Fun Prints. Additionally, P&G offers Bounty Basic, a quality one-ply paper towel as well Bounty Quilted Napkins. For more information on Bounty, visit www.facebook.com/bounty.
About Procter & Gamble
Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Whisper, Pantene, Mach3, Bounty, Dawn, Gain, Pringles, Charmin, Downy, Lenor, Iams, Crest, Oral-B, Duracell, Olay, Head & Shoulders, Wella, Gillette, Braun and Fusion. The P&G community includes approximately 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
About School Family Media, Inc. & PTO Today
Since 1999, School Family Media, Inc., through its PTO Today, Inc. property, has been connecting with PTO and PTA leaders and school families at every public and private K-8 school nationwide – more than 83,000 schools – through its print, online resources and school-family event programs. School Family Media is focused exclusively on helping parents and schools help children succeed by promoting and enabling practical and meaningful parent involvement at school. School Family Media’s parent-focused, out-of-the-classroom programs and resources, such as School Family Nights, Parent Education Nights, Healthy School Kids, Back2School and SchoolFamily.com, offer school families the widest possible range of opportunities and resources for strengthening the connection between the parent, student and school community. Learn more at www.schoolfamilymedia.com.
