Consumer Cellular Employees Tally Record Charitable Donations and Volunteer Efforts in 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Consumer Cellular (www.consumercellular.com), the number one rated cellphone service for the third consecutive year and exclusive wireless provider for AARP members, closed 2012 with unprecedented charitable donations and employee volunteer efforts within the company’s local communities of Portland, Phoenix and Redmond (Ore.). In 2012, Consumer Cellular and its employees generously gave more than $365,000 to local and national causes and donated hundreds of hours of their time to benefit thousands of lives.

“As a company, we have always been very passionate about charitable giving, but our employees’ willingness to give their time and donations makes it a much more rewarding experience,” said John Marick, CEO, Consumer Cellular. “Our employees can take pride in 2012 as the company’s most successful philanthropic year to date thanks to their generous donations of time, money, and hard work.”

In 2012, Consumer Cellular employees:

• Provided 121 pints of blood, impacting 363 lives in their local communities at four on-site Red Cross Blood Drives
• Raised more than $15,250 by running in the Portland and Phoenix Race for the Cure events
• Gave $10,180 in school supplies to kids in need
• Donated over 782 hours repackaging bulk food at local food pantries
• Donated 28,722 pounds of food, supplying 22,093 meals for local Fill the Bag Food Drives
• Adopted several families and provided gifts from the Giving Tree including clothes, toys, toiletries, gift cards, books, games and more

As exemplified by its employees, Consumer Cellular is dedicated to charitable giving and social responsibility as a member of the community. Last year, Consumer Cellular implemented a Charity Match Program and continued its successful Phone Recycling Program. By matching donations and volunteer hours up to $250 per employee, Consumer Cellular provided a matching opportunity of approximately $160,000. Also, as part of the company’s Phone Recycling Program, over 25,000 phones were recycled and $29,616 in proceeds went to support Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Oregon’s premier pediatric health center and Children’s Miracle Network partner.

To significantly reduce the company’s paper consumption and, in turn, reduce its corporate carbon footprint on the environment, 95 percent of Consumer Cellular’s shipping by-products were recycled and 85 percent of its customers migrated to email billing or another paper-reducing billing option. On behalf of its customers who switched to email billing, Consumer Cellular donated $150,000 to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).

About Consumer Cellular

Consumer Cellular is the exclusive wireless provider for AARP members and a top-rated carrier that provides no-contract cellphones and service plans to those 50+. Founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone should have affordable access to the safety and convenience of cellular service, Consumer Cellular is privately held with more than 700 employees. The Portland, Ore.-based company utilizes the nation’s largest voice and data network, covering more than 296 million people – or 97 percent of the U.S. population. Consumer Cellular’s wireless phones and plans are sold nationwide at leading retailers such as Sears and RadioShack dealer franchise locations, as well as direct to consumers at www.consumercellular.com or 800-686-4460. The company has been ranked on the Inc. 5000 list for four years in a row. For cellphone tutorials, features, applications and company news, connect with Consumer Cellular on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.