U.S. Cellular to Reward Teachers With Another $1 Million in Classrooms

CHICAGO, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. Cellular believes teachers deserve something better. The wireless carrier is continuing its commitment to schools with the return of its Calling All Teachers campaign. As part of the company's countdown to something better in 2010, U.S. Cellular is giving $1 million to help teachers erase classroom needs.

In a partnership with DonorsChoose.org, the company and its associates are encouraging teachers to register on the site in May and throughout the summer. Then, they can come back this fall and post their classroom projects for potential funding. DonorsChoose.org is a philanthropic Web site that helps public school teachers find money for classroom projects that exceed their limited budgets.

The pinch of budget cuts has compelled many teachers to supplement shortfalls by purchasing basic supplies like crayons, textbooks and calculators with personal resources. A 2010 national survey* said K-8th grade teachers spend hundreds of dollars of their own money every year to help teach our kids. The study also said 70 percent of teachers believe their schools are financially unable to provide necessary teaching tools.

Throughout the summer, U.S. Cellular associates are encouraging teachers to visit DonorsChoose.org and register as a "U.S. Cellular Teacher."  In August, as the new school year kicks off, they can revisit the site for more details on posting their classroom projects.

"Teachers can request everything from textbooks to microscopes to art supplies," said Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org. "It's important to give teachers the opportunity to have unique projects for their classrooms that help them provide creative ways for children to learn and be engaged."

During September and October, U.S. Cellular plans to fund $1 million in posted projects in the areas where it does business.

"Our associates are excited to once again show teachers how much we appreciate everything they do to help our children learn and grow," said Karen Ehlers, vice president of public affairs and communications for U.S. Cellular.  "We believe children deserve the best. As a company, we are doing what we can to help teachers because it's the right thing to do and the right time to do it."

During last year's Calling All Teachers campaign, U.S. Cellular funded more than 2,000 classroom projects that benefited nearly 175,000 students.  More than 40 percent of the funded projects were in rural schools while another 26 percent were in urban schools. Due to the overwhelming response to the campaign, the company decided to increase its funding to $1.1 million to cover all of the projects in the areas where it does business.

For more information, visit uscellular.com/callingallteachers.

* Statistics from 2010 national survey funded by OfficeMax.

About U.S. Cellular

The 9,000 associates of U.S. Cellular believe a wireless phone enhances people's lives and a wireless company should be in the business of bringing people together. U.S. Cellular has a wide range of monthly plans, including those with unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited free incoming calls and options to prepay. The company has a growing catalog of phones like the BlackBerry® Tour and the touch-screen LG Tritan and HTC Touch Pro 2, which offer e-mail and Web access. Those features are delivered 10 times faster over U.S. Cellular's 3G Mobile Broadband network. U.S. Cellular believes in the power of the community and has made a commitment to invest more than $4.5 million in teachers and schools during 2009 and 2010. Based in Chicago, the company is the nation's sixth-largest wireless carrier, serving 6.2 million customers across the country. To learn more about the company visit one of its retail stores or uscellular.com.  You can also check out U.S. Cellular on Facebook.

About DonorsChoose.org

Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit Web site where public school teachers describe specific educational projects for their students, and donors can choose the projects they want to support. After completing a project, the donor hears back from the classroom they supported in the form of photographs and teacher thank you letters. To date, 127,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to secure funding for $52.8 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn. Through DonorsChoose.org, individuals from all walks of life have helped 3.2 million students.

About Calling All Teachers

U.S. Cellular, in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, launched the Calling All Teachers campaign in 2009 with a giving goal of $1 million to help teachers erase classroom needs. DonorsChoose.org is a philanthropic Web site that helps public school teachers find money for classroom projects that exceed their limited budgets. In 2009, U.S. Cellular funded more than 2,000 classroom projects that benefited nearly 175,000 students. This year, classroom projects posted by teachers during May will be funded in the fall of 2010.

About Calling All Communities

For the past two years, U.S. Cellular has invited communities to rally around their favorite school to share $1 million in its Calling All Communities campaign. Ten schools across the country with the most votes each won $100,000 to use in any way they chose. Schools of all sizes, public, private, urban and rural, K- 12 participated for a chance to become a Calling All Communities champion. The program will return in the fall of 2010.

SOURCE U.S. Cellular