Sprint Nextel Partners with Cincinnati High School for Month-Long Fundraiser

Sprint Nextel and Cincinnati's Hughes Center High School and Alumni Foundation are partnering to recycle wireless phones.

Through Sprint Project Connect, Sprint's nationwide wireless phone recycling program, the public can recycle used cell phones beginning April 28 through May 28 at all Sprint Nextel retail stores and at the Hughes Center at 2515 Clifton Ave. in Cincinnati. At the end of the 30-day collection period, Sprint will donate 100 percent of the net proceeds from the recycling effort to the Hughes Center/Alumni Foundation.

"We are excited about bringing the Sprint Project Connect program to the Hughes Center and the Greater Cincinnati area," Sandy Bowles, executive director for the Foundation, says in a press release. "This program not only teaches young people and parents the importance of taking care of the environment, but also teaches about leadership and community service."

Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding says, "Sprint's Project Connect program is a great example of how the entire Cincinnati community can come together to support the Hughes Center, our kids and our environment."

In April 2002, Sprint launched Sprint Project Connect, a wireless phone donation and recycling program, to raise charitable funds while providing an environmentally friendly way to dispose of used wireless phones. Through Sprint Project Connect and other take back programs, donated wireless phones are either recycled or resold. Since the program's inception, Sprint Nextel has donated more than $3 million to charities and kept nearly 7 million wireless devices out of the waste stream.

For those interested in donating used phones at Sprint Nextel stores that benefit the Hughes Center/Alumni Foundation, drop-off boxes are available at all Sprint Nextel Greater Cincinnati Retail Stores from April 28 through May 28, 2006. Sprint Project Connect accepts all makes and models of phones.