Peter Facinelli and Jennie Garth Lead Local Volunteers During Bounty's® 'Make a Clean Difference' Program Stop at L.A.'s Kingsley Elementary School

CINCINNATI, June 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Procter & Gamble Company's (NYSE: PG) Bounty® brand is teaming up with husband-and-wife duo Peter Facinelli and Jennie Garth, along with dozens of local Los Angeles-area volunteers from HandsOn Network and Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation today to "Make a Clean Difference" at Los Angeles' Kingsley Elementary School.  Answering the call from President Obama for Americans to volunteer in the community, Bounty's "Make a Clean Difference" program is uniting more than 1,000 volunteers to transform the learning environments of 30 public schools in 10 cities across the country.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100604/NY14813A  )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100604/NY14813A )

"Twilight"-saga star Peter Facinelli and "90210's" Jennie Garth are leading the team of community volunteers in tackling everything from lending extra hands to spruce up classrooms with a fresh coat of paint to planting flowers and gardening outdoor areas.  

"Jennie and I are thrilled to be here in Los Angeles to join Bounty and all of the volunteers who have given their time today to truly make a difference in the lives of these young students," said Peter Facinelli.  "As parents of three daughters, we understand the importance of inspiring children in the classroom, and we are happy to be part of a program committed to improving their learning potential."

Intended to encourage continued creativity in the classroom, Rush Philanthropic's teaching artist volunteers also created a special mural that will remain on display at the school.  Additional Los Angeles schools receiving a helping-hand from community volunteers include Aragon Elementary and Loreto Elementary on June 12.

The program, announced by Gabrielle Union at the Points of Light Institute and ServiceNation reception celebrating National Volunteer Week in Washington, D.C. on April 20, encourages local community volunteers to join Bounty in its commitment to help maintain the learning environments of schools across the country by getting them "Bounty clean."  

"We are thrilled to see the impact the volunteers have made here at Kingsley Elementary in Los Angeles today and pleased to provide a clean learning environment for students to unlock their creativity and curiosity," said Dave Lee, Procter & Gamble North American Bounty Brand Manager. "We believe that messes should never get in the way of hands-on activity and learning and are pleased to have this opportunity to provide Kingsley with a fresh start for the next school year as this one winds down."

Maintaining clean learning environments and providing volunteer services are the crux of Bounty's "Make a Clean Difference" program.  Research shows a link between the cleanliness of school facilities and students' academic achievements, yet, 25 percent of all schools report at least one on-site building in less than adequate condition.(1),(2)  Additionally, less than 33 percent of schools provide students with opportunities to bring learning to life through community service.(3)

In addition to Los Angeles, Bounty's "Make a Clean Difference" program is impacting 30 public schools in the following cities from April through June: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; and Seattle, WA.  For more information, visit www.facebook.com/bounty.

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 HandsOn Network

HandsOn Network, the volunteer-focused arm of Points of Light Institute, is the largest volunteer network in the nation and includes more than 250 HandsOn Action Centers in 16 countries.  HandsOn includes a powerful network of more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations that are answering the call to serve and creating meaningful change in their communities.  Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at about $600 million. For more information, please visit www.HandsOnNetwork.org.

About Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation

Founded in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny and Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a 501 (C) 3 organization, is dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant arts exposure, access and education as well as providing exhibition opportunities to early and mid-career artists and artists of color.  In its first 15 years, Rush Philanthropic has served over 700,000 urban youth, directed millions in funding from donors including individuals, foundations and leading corporations to underserved youth, and established two exhibit and education facilities, Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center and Corridor Gallery.  Rush Philanthropic believes that if you give young people the opportunity to practice and appreciate art — whether poetry, music, dance or the visual arts — you will see lives transformed. Nurtured in early childhood, and anchored in sustained, creative experiences throughout one's life, it is through art that we see young people learn to value their own unique voices and visions; and it is through art that we see artists transform the minds and eyes of society. For more information, visit www.rushphilanthropic.org.

About Procter & Gamble

Three 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®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, and Braun®.  The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.  Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

(1) Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers; Cleanliness and Learning in Higher Education, June 2008.

http://www.appa.org/files/FMArticles/FM0708featureJCampbellABigger.pdf

(2) U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistical Analysis Report, June 2000. page iv.

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000032.pdf

(3) Engaged for Success: Service-Learning as a Tool for High School Dropout Prevention; A Report by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the

National Conference on Citizenship, 2008.  Page 3. http://www.civicenterprises.net/pdfs/service-learning.pdf

SOURCE Procter & Gamble/Bounty