Excel promotes sustainability for Green Apple Day of Service

Published on: 
October 17, 2012

On Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, Excel Dryer Inc., manufacturer of the energy-efficient XLERATOR® hand dryer, joined thousands of organizations around the world in helping to create healthier learning environments for kids. For the inaugural Green Apple Day of Service, Excel Dryer teamed up with a long-time community organization with which it has an ongoing partnership. The Children’s Study Home (CSH), based in Springfield, MA, improves children’s lives through educational, residential and family services.

Excel Dryer staff, CSH students and volunteers from Western New England University worked alongside generous volunteers from Beebe Landscaping Services and Olympic Electric. Volunteers helped to landscape the campus while a small group of Global Sustainability members created signs to express sustainable ideas and hung them throughout the school. Other activities included facility upgrades such new LED lighting, garden plantings, a landscape clean-up and installation of new Green Apple XLERATOR® high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers.

During the activities, a small group of students shadowed an electrician while he installed the new, energy-efficient hand dryers, while others cleared brush and planted new trees and shrubs. The students were able to get hands-on experience while learning how to make a difference in their community.

Activity leaders asked students to sign certificates that confirmed their participation in the Day of Service as well as their advocacy for future Green Apple efforts. The certificate and the accompanying Green Apple pins deputized the students and volunteers as part of the CSH “Green Apple Corps.”

Among the hard-working volunteers that day was Denis Gagnon, president and owner of Excel Dryer. Denis is a former board president of the Children’s Study Home and sits on the board of both CSH and Western New England University. During his term as CSH board president, Denis headed the capital campaign that funded the $3 million expansion of the CSH Mill Pond School. Participating in the Green Apple Day of Service extended Denis’ commitment to ensuring that Mill Pond lives up to its fullest potential.

As a final activity, volunteers placed their handprints on a giant banner to commemorate the day. In a span of just a few hours, the Mill Pond campus became more aware, more sustainable, and greener – inside and out. In addition to making the campus beautiful, the makeover helped to spread the message of sustainability at CSH and the surrounding community. The Green Apple Day of Service was a success in so many ways, and it is a testament to the amazing things that happen when people come together for a specific cause.

As a Green Apple partner, Excel Dryer will manufacture Green Apple-branded XLERATOR hand dryers. For each dryer sold, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to CFGS programs, supporting the organization’s mission to create safe and healthy facilities that enhance students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach. The Green Apple XLERATOR (XL-SI-1.1N) hand dryers installed at The Children’s Study Home feature XLERATOR accessories which include the new certified HEPA filtration system, speed and sound control and 1.1 noise reduction nozzle. For more information, visit www.exceldryer.com or call 1.800.255.9235.

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