News Details

The Race to Rise to the Top in Full Swing in U.S. Cellular's Calling All Communities Campaign

September 26, 2011
Latest Top 100 Leading Schools in $1 Million Contest Revealed

CHICAGO, Sep 26, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --

In the final weeks of voting in U.S. Cellular's (NYSE:USM) Calling All Communities campaign, North Carolina and Tennessee continue to dominate the list with leading schools. However, several states are running strong races that could very well result in upsets in the end. 

Boosted by community spirit, schools across the country are battling to win a share of $1 million in the company's third annual campaign to support education. U.S. Cellular's commitment to empowering communities to support local schools is one of the reasons it has the happiest customers in wireless.

Today, the carrier released the most recent list of the top 100 schools that have moved to the forefront of the tight race with less than two weeks of voting left. The top 18 schools with the most votes will win a share of $1 million to spend any way they see fit. The school that garners the most votes will receive $150,000, and the next 17 schools will each receive $50,000. The voting period ends Oct. 6.

As of Sept. 26 at 8 a.m. (CT), the top 100 schools lead a total of 2,183 schools throughout the country that have received community votes. So far, more than 566,000 votes have been cast. Seymour Primary School in Seymour, Tenn., Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in Orland Hills, Ill., and Picket County School in Byrdstown, Tenn., battle it out in the leading three spots, while other schools continue to jockey for position. Fremont Stars Elementary in Fremont, N.C., jumped from 15th place to 10th in one week. With communities continuing to gain momentum, there is still time for schools to earn the votes needed to place among the winners.

Anyone 18* years or older can visit any U.S. Cellular store and ask an associate for a code to vote for their favorite school at uscellular.com and learn about the carrier's cutting-edge products and services. Each voting code gives people the opportunity to vote online once daily until the campaign ends. The voting cards feature a peel-off sticker that gives thousands of lucky supporters a chance to cast two votes per day or be one of 18 people to win one year of free U.S. Cellular wireless service. In addition, 2,000 randomly-selected voters will be awarded a $25 U.S. Cellular debit card simply for supporting their schools.

Public and private schools, kindergarten through high school, are eligible to win. No purchase is necessary, and you don't have to be a U.S. Cellular customer to vote. The winning schools will be announced in October and November. For more information about U.S. Cellular, its cutting-edge phone lineup, high-speed nationwide network and Calling All Communities, visit uscellular.com or U.S. Cellular's Facebook page.

*Age 19 years or older in Nebraska and Alabama

About Calling All Communities

Since Calling All Communities began in 2008, U.S. Cellular has awarded $2 million to 20 schools throughout the nation. Voter participation in the 2010 Calling All Communities campaign reached 430,000 votes cast for 6,800-plus schools. Last year's champions included six public and four private schools from small rural and large urban communities in Iowa, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina. Past Calling All Communities champions have used their winnings in a variety of ways from outfitting their classrooms with new computers, Promethean boards or other technological advancements to renovating gymnasiums, school kitchens and science labs. Others have used the donation to make building infrastructure improvements, such as replacing outdated electrical systems. A few even paid portions of their proceeds forward, giving college scholarships to graduating students and donating to nonprofits around the world.

LaTrina Shepherd, U.S. Cellular, latrina.shepherd@uscellular.com, 773-355-3364

About U.S. Cellular

U.S. Cellular rewards its customers with unmatched benefits and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier has a strong line-up of cutting-edge devices that are all backed by its high-speed nationwide network that has the highest call quality of any national carrier. U.S. Cellular was named a J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Customer Service Champion and received PC Magazine's 2011 Readers' Choice Award. To learn more about U.S. Cellular, visit one of its retail stores or uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with U.S. Cellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: U.S. Cellular

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