SAIC Employees Help Collect More than 21,260 Pounds of Recyclables During O.A.R.’s Green Dream Tour

SAIC employee volunteers helped collect more than 21,260 pounds of recyclables while promoting environmental awareness during the rock band O.A.R.'s 2010 Green Dream tour, which wrapped up Oct. 6 in Seattle, Wash.

The amount of recyclables collected nearly tripled the amount collected last year (8,162 pounds).

"This year’s Green Dream tour has demonstrated increased momentum," said John Mauney, SAIC vice president for Branding and Advertising. "We have collected more recycled materials during this tour than the first two years combined, far surpassing our expectations. We engaged 85 SAIC volunteers in the program and recyclables were collected in 29 cities."

Karen Anderson volunteered at the Columbia, Md. show, where 4,000 pounds of recyclables were collected.

"It was so fun to be at a concert, knowing I was promoting a great cause that not only I stand behind but so does my company," she said. "The experience was great. I got to meet other like-minded SAICers, see how O.A.R. really means what they say about environmental conservation and awareness and interact with concert-goers about our company."

Supporting Paralyzed Veterans

In addition to helping out the environment, SAIC and O.A.R. teamed up to assist the Paralyzed Veterans of America, a veterans service organization focused on assisting veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases, by promoting digital downloads of O.A.R.'s song, "Light Switch Sky."

"We were able to cross-pollinate the O.A.R. relationship to provide very unique support of the Paralyzed Veterans of America on behalf of our Health business area," Mauney said.

Proceeds from these downloads will be donated to the Paralyzed Veterans through February 2011. The song is available at www.liveoar.com.

"We at Paralyzed Veterans of America want to express our gratitude to SAIC for not only being a national sponsor of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games but also for introducing us to O.A.R. We deeply appreciate O.A.R for using their music to help make many more people aware of our work to empower veterans with disabilities," said Paralyzed Veterans of America National President Bill Lawson.

SAIC and O.A.R. also developed a public service announcement for Paralyzed Veterans that encouraged viewers to get involved with the organization's Mission: Able campaign, a program designed to help paralyzed veterans get care, benefits and jobs.