Keep California Beautiful Takes To the Ice with the Stockton Thunder: California Launches its first event of the 2009 Great American CleanupTM

Stockton, CA – The Stockton Thunder’s "Easy Being Green" event on March 6 & 7, 2009, was the first major partnership effort with Keep California Beautiful to engage individuals, communities, businesses, and governmental agencies in the Great American Cleanup.TM The entire two-day event culminated the season-long eco-friendly awareness campaign with a hockey twist; aiming to educate hockey fans on how they can do their part to preserve the environment. Before both games, the Thunder staff hosted a "Green Fair" in Stockton Arena's North Conference Center. Over 14,000 fans had the opportunity to visit booths of local eco-friendly businesses and organizations who address recycling, pollution, clean air, water, renewable energy sources, eco-friendly agriculture and more.

To support recycling efforts, Keep California Beautiful hosted a cell phone recycling round up where fans were able to turn in old cell phones and accessories for proper recycling and received a “Don’t Litter” license plate frame. Dart Container Corporation was also onsite collecting expanded polystyrene foam products for recycling, showcasing their local drop-off program and curbside collection opportunities within the local area. To further promote the program Keep California Beautiful partnered with Radio Disney to inspire kids and parents to participate in the event. Radio Disney AM 1470’s “Rockin Road Crew” was onsite with interactive games, music and entertainment promoting to families how they can “Be Green” together! Keep California Beautiful also asked attendees to take personal responsibility by signing a reusable bag pledge or eco-runner/walker pledge. Giveaways that support green lifestyles were given out each night to the fans of all ages: the first 2,000 families each night received a commemorative Thunder tote bag, constructed from recycled materials, the first 2,000 kids (ages 12 and under) received "Easy Being Green" activity books, and each family received a free plant or tree sapling and a water conservation garden nozzle and shower head as they exited the Arena following the game.

Waste Management Sacramento Area Community Relations Representative, Jennelle Bechtold, and the Manager of the City of Lodi Neighborhood Services Division, Joseph Wood, assisted with outreach as volunteers with Keep California Beautiful. Also in attendance was Federal Liaison Leonard Robinson from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DSTC), and a Keep California Beautiful (KCB) Board member. As the host of Going Green with EnviroBro on KDEE FM 97.7, he helped promote the event through his weekly radio program. Robinson stated “On behalf of both DTSC and KCB, the outreach, education and efforts to empower the residents of the Central Valley to sustain the environment is appreciated.” Through leveraged media opportunities with program partners and this event, Keep California Beautiful was able to reach out to a significant portion of the 1.2 million residents of California’s Central Valley, promoting the Great American CleanupTM which takes each year in March, April and May.

Keep California Beautiful will host the 3rd Annual Statewide Litter Collection, Enforcement and Beautification Day on May 6, 2009. Thunder Fans were told that they are needed to: Stand up, Clean- up, and Be Counted by volunteering for a community improvement project or participate in a special recycling event. The Stockton Thunder has embraced Keep California Beautiful’s core value, “The Efforts of One Result in the Power of Many,” and will continue to promote Easy to be Green and Keep California Beautiful’s effort to engage the Thunder fans in volunteer opportunities via in-game video board and public address announcements for the remainder of the 2008-09 season. "Thunder fans are always very ready, willing and able to help our community," said Thunder team president, Dan Chapman. "This is a very worthwhile event and our fans will certainly do their part in keeping California beautiful."

Keep California Beautiful works with its partner communities to encourage them to organize and participate in highway and roadside litter cleanups; park enhancements and habitat restorations; creek and river cleanups; special recycling events and educational fairs, graffiti removal, tree and bulb plantings and illegally dumpsite cleanups. These efforts align with Keep California Beautiful’s guiding principles of Education, Efforts, and Endorse Enforcement. “During California’s Great American Cleanup in 2008, the volunteer efforts of our community partners saved the state and local governments of California an estimated $4.7 million while completing much needed community improvement projects,” said Keep California Beautiful Executive Director, Christine Flowers-Ewing.

To support the California component of the Great American CleanupTM, Keep California Beautiful partners with state and federal agencies including Caltrans, California Highway Patrol, California Integrated Waste Management Board, California State Parks, Department of Toxic Substances Control and the federal Mid-Pacific Region of the Bureau of Reclamation. California event sponsors include American Chemistry Council, The Walt Disney Company, Waste Management, Chevron, Dart, Holy Cow, Save Mart, Roplast and the California Film Extruders and Converters Association provide needed financial support and in-kind donations. As part of this effort in 2009, Pactiv is the financial supporter of the Keep California Don’t Trash California Campaign and TarpX is providing financial support and in-kind-donations.

The Keep California Beautiful mission embraces working together to ignite individuals, state and local governments, communities, and corporate responsibility through strategic initiatives and volunteer action to preserve and protect California's beautiful natural resources for generations to come. Keep California Beautiful is the State Leader for the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) Local Affiliate Program, providing support for the 13 KAB Local Affiliates and 60 California Proud Community Program members. For more information visit www.keepcaliforniabeautiful.org

The proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons, the Thunder has led the ECHL in attendance for three consecutive seasons and drew 239,337 fans to Stockton Arena in 2007-08. Season tickets for 2009-10 are now on sale. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.stocktonthunder.com.