Who: Tanya Pottinger, Human Resources Generalist, Gershow Recycling
Michele Mazur, Principal, Holy Angels Regional School
Christina Sarafin, Teacher, Holy Angels Regional School
Maria Marks, student, William Floyd Elementary School
Debra Guigliano, Director of the School Re-Entry Program, Stony Brook University Medical Center

What: Gershow Recycling is helping to kick off Can Tabs for Kids, a fundraising project to help in the fight against childhood cancer. The program, which began in February at William Floyd Elementary School, has since expanded to Holy Angels Regional School, Half Hollow Hills School District, Patchogue-Medford Schools and William Floyd School District.

Students will collect aluminum tabs from soda and pet food cans and place them in collection bins located in their classrooms. The tabs will be brought to Gershow, where they will be weighed and recycled. Gershow will pay for the tabs and match the amount the school has raised (up to $5,000), with all funds going to benefit the Sunrise Fund at Stony Brook University Medical Center. (Example: $50 worth of tabs will equal $100 for the Sunrise Fund.)

The program was inspired by Maria Marks, a William Floyd Elementary School student who was diagnosed with cancer at a young age. Between the ages of two weeks and six months, she underwent numerous chemotherapy sessions. The constant exposure to the radiation resulted in Maria losing her hearing in both ears and now she must wear hearing aids. Her cancer has since been in remission.

When: Friday, September 30, 2011
1:00 p.m.

Where: Holy Angels Regional School
1 Division Avenue
Patchogue, NY

Directions: LIE to Exit 63 (North Ocean Avenue/CR 83) toward Patchogue. Take North Ocean Avenue south. Upon crossing Main Street, the road becomes South Ocean Avenue. Go 0.3 mile, then turn right onto Division Avenue. School is 50 feet down the road on the left-hand side.

Photo Ops: Ms. Pottinger joined by Ms. Mazur, Ms. Sarafin, Maria Marks and Dr. Parker with the tabs collected so far. Ms. Pottinger speaking to the students.

Started in 1964 by Sam Gershowitz, Gershow Recycling began as a two man operation with a tractor and trailer, a boom truck and the first portable car flattener. Now with the second generation carrying on the legacy, Gershow generates over 750 jobs, contributing millions of dollars to the local economy, while helping to preserve Long Island’s environment. Gershow Recycling takes aluminum, brass, copper, steel, cast iron, appliances, cars and vehicles. In keeping with its philosophy of “Conserving the Future by Recycling the Past,” Gershow Recycling purchases scrap metal that would have otherwise wound up in local landfills, and turns them into high-quality scrap products for recycling. The company produces both ferrous and non-ferrous products.

Hank Russell, Public Relations Director
The Public Relations and Marketing Group
156 North Ocean Avenue
Patchogue, NY 11772
(631) 207-1057
hrussell@theprmg.com

This release was published on openPR.