Big Brothers Big Sisters Winner of
"REDUCE PAPER USE" CHALLENGE

December 17, 2008, Niles, Michigan – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass, Inc (www.bbbsofbc.org) was informed Tuesday that it was the winner of Tech Soup Global’s  random drawing for five years of free internet fax services.

TechSoup Global (www.techsoupglobal.org), a leading provider of technology resources, information and support to social benefit organizations worldwide called BBBS on Monday to tell them they won its GreenTech Initiative's Reduce Paper Use Challenge (www.techsoup.org/greentech/paper/index.cfm). The challenge was designed to encourage social benefit organizations to take more aggressive and measurable steps toward reducing paper use in their offices. More than 180 organizations participated in the challenge, including libraries, schools, health and human services agencies, government agencies and environmental organizations.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berriren and Cass put a variety of activities into practice to reduce their paper use, including buying recycled paper, tracking paper usage, and implementing policies around document margins. The first step, however, was to simply start sharing educational information via email instead of printing it. Kathryn Rossow, the organization’s Interim CEO/Executive Director, said, “These are such basic changes, you would think we would have done them by now. TechSoup just gave us that extra push to make them happen.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass will receive a free basic package from Internet fax service MyFax for five years, which includes a free local or toll free fax number, the ability to send 100 pages and receive 200 pages per month; and 24/7 customer support.

Said Anna Jaeger, Co-Director of TechSoup Global’s GreenTech Program, “We are very encouraged by the number and caliber of organizations that took part in our first challenge, and congratulate Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass on making a tangible difference in the amount of paper they use in a short period of time. We also know there were many organizations that didn't 'officially' participate in the challenge, but are taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment, which benefits everyone. Keep visiting GreenTech for more practical, low- or no-cost solutions to reduce the use of our finite resources.”

The GreenTech Initiative is planning a number of additional events designed to increase environmental awareness and encourage better choice-making amongst nonprofit and social benefit organizations. GreenTech will offer more educational campaigns similar to the Reduce Paper Use Challenge, addressing issues such as energy-efficient computing.  The next campaign is scheduled for April 2009, coinciding with the annual worldwide Earth Day celebration. Further, GreenTech plans to introduce “green” products and services on the TechSoup Stock Web site and to provide links to other sites featuring technology products that can help organizations reduce their environmental impact.

ABOUT TECHSOUP GLOBAL
San Francisco-based TechSoup Global is one of the most comprehensive nonprofit technology resources in the world. It provides technology-related content, products, and community to NGOs across the globe, including the popular TechSoup.org nonprofit technology Web site. Its distribution service for technology product donations, TechSoup Stock (www.techsoup.org/stock), has served more than 87,000 organizations, distributed over 4.2 million software and hardware products, and enabled nonprofit donation recipients to save over $1.2 billion in IT expenses as of September 2008. Other programs include the NetSquared Initiative to help NGOs extend their reach and impact through cutting edge Web tools, and the TechSoup Global Network, whose goal is to build NGO capacity worldwide by extending TechSoup Global's services to all seven continents.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass, Inc.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass, a United Way partner agency, helps vulnerable children beat negative odds. Professionally-supported volunteer services are proven to reduce children’s risk of dropping out of school; becoming violent; using drugs and alcohol; and falling victim to other negative cycles. Big Brothers Big Sisters and its network of supporters recognize the hardship, pain and challenges that children in too many communities confront. There’s an urgent demand for what the organization achieves. In addition to the traditional mentoring program, which matches a Big Brother or a Big Sister with a child of the same gender for at least one year, BBBS provides "Lunch Buddy" mentors who meet with a child at their school once a week during lunchtime. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berrien and Cass, Inc. is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization celebrating 42 years of service in Berrien and Cass counties of Southwest Michigan. Learn how to join the movement to change how children grow up in Berrien and Cass Counties by going to BBBSofBC.org or call (269) 684-1100, toll free (877) 367-2244.