P&G Future Friendly, National Geographic and Promethean Announce Grand-Prize Winner of U.S. School Conservation Contest

CINCINNATI, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- P&G Future Friendly, the National Geographic Society, and Promethean today announce Walker Elementary School of Springdale, Arkansas, as the winner of the Find Your Footprint national conservation education contest. As one of six finalists, Walker Elementary received the highest number of public votes for their video entry, "Helping the World and Saving Our Future," and will be presented with the grand prize valued at $36,000.  More than 34,000 votes were cast during the four-week public voting period to choose the winner.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110406/LA78161)

The Find Your Footprint program generated inspiring submissions from elementary classrooms around the country on how students would conserve natural resources. In some school districts, local officials were engaged and permanent changes made as a result of the contest.  The grand-prize package to be presented to Walker Elementary includes: five Promethean interactive whiteboards (ActivBoards), five sets of Promethean Learner Response Systems (ActivExpressions), 30 subscriptions to National Geographic Kids magazine and up to $1,000 in National Geographic educational materials.  

"We created the 'Find Your Footprint' campaign in partnership with National Geographic, initially based on the premise that if individuals, companies, media, and organizations all worked together, performing simple steps, collectively we could create meaningful benefits for our environment," said Maurice Coffey, Marketing Director, P&G Future Friendly.  "We all continued to be surprised and inspired by the quality of the entries, that are really responsible for bringing this theme to life in ways we could not have imagined – today's youth can truly teach and inspire us all, to take care of our planet for generations to come."

Walker Elementary's winning entry, as well as other Find Your Footprint finalist ideas, that can be applied to the home, office or school are now featured on Future Friendly's Facebook page and in the April P&G brandSAVER booklet found in daily newspapers nationwide (www.nationalgeographic.com/findyourfootprint). Student-inspired tips include:

• Canceling unwanted mail catalogs to save trees, water and energy;
• Using reusable bags, lunch containers and utensils to reduce waste every day;
• Turning off a running water fountain to save up to six cups of water per hour; and
• Placing recycling bins in high traffic areas, such as: the copy room, classroom and school cafeteria.

"Throughout the entire contest process, our students have truly displayed a deep sense of commitment, ownership, and pride," said Betsy Wright, second-grade teacher, Walker Elementary.  "It has been extremely encouraging to see that here at Walker Elementary our students genuinely believe that together we can all help the world and save our future!"

"Introducing the interactive whiteboard to the classroom puts the power of digital content into the hands of teachers and students. We salute teachers and students who are serious about creating eco-friendly classrooms that are sustainable and promote the development of 21st Century skills that we have all come to expect," said Dr. Sue Cowden, Head of Publisher Alliances and Content at Promethean.

Selected by a panel of judges from P&G and National Geographic, including National Geographic Emerging Explorer and author of Pink Boots and a Machete Mireya Mayor, the other finalists are:

• Waste-Free Fridays, Gill Elementary, Farmington Hills, MI, 4th grade
• Saving Water 101, P.S. 8, The Robert Fulton School, Brooklyn, NY, 3rd-5th graders
• Let's Be Green When It's Time to Clean, Dryden Elementary, Arlington Heights, IL, 5th grade
• Canceling Catalogs: A Documentary, The Park School, Brookline, MA, 4th grade
• Plastic Waste Reduction to Save Our Oceans!, Rutledge Hall, Lincolnwood, IL, 5th grade

As part of the Find Your Footprint program, an estimated 475,000 classrooms nationwide were introduced to custom National Geographic conservation education curriculum – including a Teacher's Guide and a student-focused Waste Detectives activity designed to help students reduce waste. These complimentary resources can still be accessed at www.nationalgeographic.com/findyourfootprint.

About Promethean - Lighting the flame of learning

Promethean is a global education company committed to supporting teaching and learning. Our focus is on student centered and collaborative learning. We do this through our integrated technology, training, content and assessment solutions that help teachers meet individual student needs. Our products are used in more than 500,000 classrooms around the world, and PrometheanPlanet.com, the world's largest interactive whiteboard community site, provides its almost one million members access to around 23,000 free teaching resources. With corporate headquarters in the U.K. and U.S., Promethean has offices in nine countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange as Promethean World Plc (ticker symbol 'PRW'). www.PrometheanWorld.com

About National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to "increase and diffuse geographic knowledge," the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. National Geographic reflects the world through its magazines, television programs, films, music and radio, books, DVDs, maps, exhibitions, live events, school publishing programs, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the Society's official journal, published in English and 33 local-language editions, is read by more than 40 million people each month. The National Geographic Channel reaches 370 million households in 34 languages in 168 countries. National Geographic Digital Media receives more than 15 million visitors a month. National Geographic has funded more than 9,600 scientific research, conservation and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geography literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com.

About P&G Future Friendly

P&G Future Friendly is a program that empowers consumers to save energy, save water and reduce waste, using science, innovation and unique partnerships to achieve meaningful environmental impacts. The P&G Future Friendly program is a direct extension of P&G's long-term commitment and disciplined, science-based approach to environmental sustainability. Through the program, P&G is better able to share these solutions with consumers so they can realize the benefits in their own homes. Sustainability is core to P&G's Purpose to Touch and Improve the Lives of the Worlds' Consumers, now and for generations to come.

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 www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands. For more information on P&G's commitment to sustainability, visit: www.pg.com/sustainability.

SOURCE P&G Future Friendly