VILLA, the Timberland Company and NBA Join for Day of Service at West Philadelphia High School With Wyclef Jean and Philadelphia
November 05 2009 - 7:41PM
PR Newswire (US)
Service Event Designed to Promote Leadership and Community Activism
Among Students PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In
connection with VILLA's Big Serve community initiative, the area's
leading fashion retailer teamed up today with The Timberland
Company, NBA Cares, The School District of Philadelphia and
multiple Grammy Award-winning musician and humanitarian Wyclef Jean
for a day of community service and school renovations at West
Philadelphia High School. Through this unique partnership, West
Philadelphia High students were invited to spend time with Wyclef,
and basketball players and coaches from the Philadelphia 76ers in
inspirational sessions about leadership, the power of sports to
effect positive social change and community activism. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091105/NY06635 ) After
opening remarks by Wyclef Jean, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter,
school Principal Saliyah Cruz and representatives from Timberland
and VILLA, more than 125 volunteers - including VILLA employees and
members of the 76ers team - went to work. With a goal of creating a
more inspirational and productive environment for students,
hands-on projects included: -- Installation of outdoor classroom,
including picnic tables, planter benches, garden of fruit trees and
indigenous plants -- Fresh paint and murals, bookshelves, computer
station and seating in seniors lounge -- New equipment and fresh
paint and murals in weight room -- Fresh paint and murals in
counselor's office and discipline office, as well as themed hallway
stripes and murals for each school academy In addition, Wyclef Jean
held three sessions with students: the "History of Hip-Hop" class
heard first-hand from one of the music world's greatest; ninth
graders heard about the importance of respect in high school; and
the "Student Leaders" group and seniors learned Wyclef's thoughts
on community leadership and staying true to your roots. On the
sports side, 76ers players and coaches spoke with athletes about
balancing sports and school, understanding the role sports play in
improving communities around the world, and making the transition
to college sports. The day's projects were organized and led by a
team of City Year Philadelphia corps members. "Our mission is to
educate and inspire youth in inner cities, especially Philadelphia,
to become community leaders," said Jason Lutz, CEO of VILLA. "As we
celebrate 20 years serving urban neighborhoods and inspiring change
with our "Big Serve" platform, we're proud to be able to partner
with Timberland, the 76ers and NBA Cares to help create positive
and lasting change for this school. This has truly been a great
day." Today's service event, VILLA's largest ever, falls in line
with the retailer's mission to partner with schools, companies, and
community leaders to create opportunities for community investment
and education initiatives. After reviewing proposals from several
local community and civic groups, VILLA selected West Philadelphia
High School for this project based on the school's transformative
impact on students and the community as a whole. "We see this
school as a true beacon of hope for urban schools," said Lutz. "On
behalf of the students and staff at West Philadelphia High School,
I want to thank VILLA, The Timberland Company, NBA Cares,
Philadelphia Sixers, City Year, The School District of
Philadelphia, Wyclef Jean and volunteers from throughout the
Philadelphia area for pitching in and helping to beautify our
school," said West Philadelphia High School Principal Saliyah Cruz.
"West Philadelphia High School continues to strive to be one of the
best high schools in the country and today's investment in our
school will create a more inspirational and productive environment
for students." The School District of Philadelphia is the eighth
largest school district in the nation with more than 161,500
students -- nearly 940 of them attending West Philadelphia High
School. West Philadelphia High School has been at its current
location since 1912. The School District of Philadelphia recently
held a groundbreaking to start construction of a new
state-of-the-art West Philadelphia High School, slated to open in
September 2011. Much of today's work will be transported to the new
school when it opens. "It's an honor to be a part of a community
initiative that engages and motivates youth, and shares our own
purpose and passion," said Theresa Palermo, senior director of
marketing for Timberland North America. "We thank Wyclef Jean and
the 76ers for sharing such valuable life lessons with these
students today, and we commend VILLA for the meaningful work they
continue to do in the city of Philadelphia." Today's event marks
the first of two service events that Timberland will be hosting in
partnership with NBA Cares. The second will take place in
connection with the NBA All-Star Game in February 2010. "NBA Cares
is excited to work with Timberland to give back to children and
families here in Philadelphia, and when we get to Dallas for 2010
NBA All-Star," said NBA Vice President of Community Relations, Todd
Jacobson. "This new partnership aligns perfectly with the NBA's
ongoing commitment to hands-on community service and dedication to
generating fan awareness around the importance of volunteerism." It
also coincides with a new partnership between Wyclef Jean and The
Timberland Company that launched this month. Wyclef is one of six
Earthkeeper Heroes within the company's 2009 Earthkeepers program,
which aims to catalyze a movement of environmental and social
activists. A first for both Wyclef Jean and Timberland, this
innovative partnership fuses music, product, digital and social
media, service events and concerts to motivate and inspire
consumers to take action in protecting the environment.
Highlighting the partnership is a collection of boots that debuted
this week under the popular Timberland Earthkeepers(TM) line. For
every pair of Earthkeepers(TM) Yele Haiti boots sold, $2 will be
donated to Wyclef's Yele Haiti organization to support
reforestation in Haiti. The collection of eco-conscious footwear,
made from recycled and organic materials, will be available
globally for men, women and kids. VILLA is the first location in
the Philadelphia area to be carrying the Yele Haiti collection.
About VILLA Celebrating 20 years in business, VILLA delivers the
best fashion from head to toe within a high energy environment
designed to be a neighborhood hub for entertainment, conversation,
and even community involvement. Customers can watch the basketball
game on one of the many flat screen televisions, while surfing the
Internet, purchasing tickets to a local concert or finding out
about an upcoming neighborhood beautification project - all while
browsing a selection that includes premium merchandise from
Timberland, Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Puma, New Era and much more. With
25 stores centered in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, and Delaware
urban neighborhoods, for VILLA, selling sneakers is an entry-point
- in the vein of 'meeting them where they are'. Unlike many
retailers that benefit from inner city dollars, VILLA gives back to
the community where it resides by hiring only within the community,
providing each of its employees with financial planning assistance,
educational assistance, and leadership training that benefits them
on the job and in their community, and having the community as a
whole participate in the company's endeavors, complimentary of
VILLA's mission of change. With VILLA's assistance, many of the
store's managers have been able to purchase homes and go back to
school. Visit http://www.ruvilla.com/ for more information. About
Timberland Timberland (NYSE:TBL) is a global leader in the design,
engineering and marketing of premium-quality footwear, apparel and
accessories for consumers who value the outdoors and their time in
it. Timberland markets products under the Timberland®, Timberland
PRO®, Mountain Athletics®, SmartWool®, Timberland Boot Company®,
howies® and IPATH® brands, all of which offer quality workmanship
and detailing and are built to withstand the elements of nature.
The company's products can be found in leading department and
specialty stores as well as Timberland® retail stores throughout
North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa and the
Middle East. Timberland's dedication to making quality products is
matched by the company's commitment to "doing well and doing good"
-- forging powerful partnerships among employees, consumers and
service partners to transform the communities in which they live
and work. To learn more about Timberland, please visit
http://www.timberland.com/. About NBA Cares NBA Cares is the
league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's
long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United
States and around the world. Through this umbrella program, the
NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $115 million to
charity, provided more than one million hours of hands-on service
to communities around the world, and created more than 440 places
where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works
with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support
education, youth and family development, and health-related causes,
including: KaBOOM!, Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of
America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Global
Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. About
Yele Haiti and Yele Vert Yele Haiti is a grassroots movement that
builds global awareness for Haiti while helping to transform the
country through programs in education, sports, the arts and
environment. Yele's community service programs include food
distribution and mobilizing emergency relief. The Yele Vert program
combines community based agroforestry, environmental education and
social marketing into a new and sustainable program of tree
planting, agricultural improvement and environmental restoration.
GrammyAward-winning musician, humanitarian and Goodwill Ambassador
to Haiti Wyclef Jean founded Yele Haiti in 2005. For more
information please go to http://www.yele.org/. To learn more about
and follow Wyclef Jean please go to:
http://www.wyclef.com/http://www.twitter.com/wyclefhttp://www.facebook.com/Wyclefhttp://www.yele.org/
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091105/NY06635 DATASOURCE:
Timberland CONTACT: Megan R. Smith, Brownstone PR, +1-215-410-9879
or +1-215-910-0390, Web Site: http://www.timberland.com/
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