NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 13, 2007 – The Glad Products Company, the first-ever sponsor of New Orleans' Mardi Gras in 2006, returns to the city to help tackle trash and support New Orleans' tourism revitalization efforts after Hurricane Katrina's devastation. This year, Glad is partnering with Keep America Beautiful® and other local organizations to help a school in need, plus donating 150,000 of its GLAD ForceFlex® trash bags to city garbage-clearing efforts for Mardi Gras and beyond.
On Feb. 15, Glad will host a volunteer effort to clean and beautify the grounds of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology, benefiting students who will soon return to the school following their displacement caused by Katrina. Joining Glad's clean-up are Keep America Beautiful and its local affiliates, Keep New Orleans Beautiful and Keep Louisiana Beautiful; Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman and the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office; the City of New Orleans Department of Sanitation; and New Orleans' own hometown cleaning hero, Becky Zaheri, and volunteers of the Katrina Krewe, a local grassroots organization that Zaheri founded in 2005 that has been responsible for removing more than 250,000 tons of Katrina debris from the streets of New Orleans.
"This school clean-up is an important step for the recovery of our community. In addition, since tourism is one of the biggest drivers of our local economy, Glad's support of Mardi Gras is integral to welcoming visitors," said Zaheri. "The supplies and assistance from Glad will help spotlight our mission and hopefully encourage hundreds more volunteers to participate in clean-ups and re-building efforts that will continue long after the festivities are over."
Helping to prepare the city for a cleaner celebration, Glad is once again donating more than 150,000 GLAD ForceFlex® trash bags to local Keep America Beautiful affiliates and the City of New Orleans for garbage-clearing efforts. The effort is part of Glad's community-outreach program, "Glad to Help™." Glad also will distribute its ForceFlex® trash bags to festival-goers before the Endymion, Bacchus and Rex parades, encouraging them to do their part in helping tame the trash. Glad's ForceFlex bags have a unique texture that stretches to handle practically any kind of litter, making them the perfect bags for clean-up efforts.
A History of Help
Glad's participation in Mardi Gras 2007 follows a history of help since the Katrina tragedy. In 2005, via The Clorox Company Foundation, Glad donated more than 1.2 million ForceFlex® trash bags to clean-up efforts throughout the Gulf Coast region. In 2006, the company donated 150,000 trash bags and led pre- and post- Mardi Gras clean-ups in New Orleans. That same year, Glad was the first and only sponsor of a Mardi Gras tourism-targeted advertising campaign, an effort conducted by city officials to help bolster economic development in New Orleans. Additionally, Glad has supported Keep America Beautiful's efforts to improve communities nationwide through litter prevention, waste reduction and beautification for over 20 years. Glad has donated approximately 35 million trash bag to the organization during that time.
Glad ForceFlex® Clean-Up Details
The GLAD ForceFlex® Mardi Gras Clean-Up effort begins at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology, located at 1617 Caffin Ave. Glad representatives, Keep America Beautiful and its local affiliates, Zaheri and the volunteer clean-up brigade will cover the school grounds and immediate surrounding area. In addition to litter pick up, the volunteers will lay mulch and plant trees and flowers to help beautify the school grounds.
Encouraging Everyone to Do Their Part
Having mobilized 10,000 people nationwide to help clean-up New Orleans, Becky Zaheri offers her simple tips for revelers, who can do their part to help preserve the historical city during Mardi Gras:
For more information on volunteering to participate in the GLAD ForceFlex® Mardi Gras Clean-Up 2007, visit the Katrina Krewe Web site at www.cleanno.org. Information on GLAD ForceFlex® trash bags and the brands' community outreach programs can be found at www.GLAD.com.
About The Glad Products Company
The Glad Products Company is a subsidiary of The Clorox Company, headquartered in Oakland, Calif. In addition to GLAD ForceFlex® trash bags, the Glad lineup of products in the United States and Canada includes freezer, food storage and sandwich bags; food wraps; outdoor, indoor and recycling disposal bags; and GladWare® containers and Ovenware. GLAD products are developed and manufactured under a joint venture agreement between The Clorox Company, The Glad Products Company and The Procter & Gamble Company.
About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. To learn more about Keep America Beautiful, go to www.kab.org.
Contacts
Jennifer Strasburg
Current Lifestyle Marketing
415-449-0125; jstrasburg@currentlm.com
David Kellis
The Glad Products Company
510-271-2252; david.kellis@clorox.com
