PORTLAND, Ore. – MLS WORKS, Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative, and the Portland Timbers today announced the awarding of a solar panel installation and environmental beautification to Hosford Middle School in Southeast Portland as part of the MLS WORKS/Continental Tire “How Green Are Your Goals?” contest.
Representatives from Major League Soccer, the Portland Timbers, Portland Public Schools and Continental Tire will unveil the many sustainable additions provided by MLS WORKS and Continental Tire during a special Earth Day event at Hosford Middle School on Monday, April 22, at 2:30 p.m.
The “How Green Are Your Goals?” contest engaged MLS fans to participate and support environmentally friendly efforts leading up to Earth Day 2012. Portland was the MLS city selected as having the greenest fans with its many submissions detailing the city’s everyday approach to incorporating green efforts. Reflecting this, the Hosford Middle School Environmental Beautification project included a holistic approach, with touch points and significant improvements in the following areas: energy/solar, storm water/garden and sustainable mural, transportation, recycling and CO2 reduction.
In addition to the award from MLS WORKS and Continental Tire, more than $10,000 in added donations from the Portland community and Portland-area businesses helped in making the following projects possible at Hosford:
- BEF solar panel installation and subsequent Solar4Schools learning materials
- Student-designed, green-themed mural
- Custom bike racks, including an art bike rack created by Oregon-based designer Matt Cartwright
- Helmet and bike lock giveaways to Hosford students and faculty who ride a bike to work
- Reusable water bottles for every student at Hosford
- New Elkay drinking fountain, which will reduce the amount of plastic water bottles used at the school and track the number of plastic bottles saved from landfills
- Tree-planting and beautification of the entrance to the school
- Permanent directional signage to display the environmental benefits of the project to the Portland community
- Creation of communal gathering places on the school campus
MLS WORKS Greener Goals identifies ways to reduce our carbon footprint and helps raise awareness for environmental issues throughout the soccer community. The greening of our game will encourage MLS clubs, players, corporate partners and fans to create a cleaner, healthier environment.
About MLS WORKS
MLS WORKS is Major League Soccer's community outreach initiative dedicated to addressing important social issues and serves as a platform for both League and club philanthropic programs. MLS WORKS seeks to establish Major League Soccer as a leader for improving the lives of people through sport. For more information visit the website at www.MLSsoccer.com/works.
About Continental AG
With preliminary sales of €32.7 billion in 2012, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires, and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has approximately 170,000 employees in 46 countries.
