Old phone books ring in cash for schools
Outdated directories mean $1,300 bonus for Bompas and Deh Gah schools
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, May 19, 2016
DEH CHO
Community members in Fort Providence and Fort Simpson have been hard at work for the past few months collecting old phone directories for schools in the community.
Aaden White, left, and Rhys Dowdeswell hold up some of the old Northwestel directories Bompas Elementary School collected over the past few months. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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Deh Gah School in Fort Providence and Bompas Elementary School in Fort Simpson are two of the eight schools territorywide that took part in Northwestel's annual directory recycling program, and contributed to the collection of 3,351 directories which are to be recycled.
The program has run annually since 1992 and, according to a news release from Northwestel, has resulted in the collection of more than 175,000 old directories in total.
Deh Gah School collected a total of 450 directories. Adriann Kennedy, Northwestel's external communications manager, said the outdated directories will result in a cash donation of $750 for the school's activities.
Meanwhile, Bompas Elementary School collected 220 directories this year.
"(Students from Bompas raised) $550 from Northwestel for the school and its activities," Kennedy wrote in an e-mail.
Bompas principal Kelley Andrews-Klein said the money will go toward the school's extracurricular programming.
She added the directories were collected by classes and were also dropped off by community members.
One community member, Yvonne Browning, went to several GNWT buildings and collected old directories on the school's behalf, Andrews-Klein said.
Browning could not be reached by press time but an April 29 notice from the school gives a special thank-you to her.
Andrews-Klein said the school regularly takes part in the program as a way to access some extra funding.
"We've participated every year since I've been here," she said, adding that's at least three years.
She said the school may have taken part in the program prior to her tenure as principal, as well.
This year, Bompas Elementary School has been collecting directories since at least March 11 and have been asking the Fort Simpson community for donations since that time.
On May 10, Northwestel issued an official news release stating all eight schools combined raised a total of $3,700 from Northwestel.
Aside from Bompas Elementary School and Deh Gah School, four schools in Yellowknife took part as well as schools from Fort Smith and Hay River.
