Procter & Gamble

Forte and teammates Earl Bennett and Kellen Davis to reignite school pride, increase support for football team and provide on and off-field donations

BETHEL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2012-- Once a Chicago powerhouse, the football team at Tilden High School has not won a game in four years and now competes with less than 15 players. Needless to say, morale and school spirit has diminished over the years. On Thursday, October 11, Chicago running back Matt Forte surprised Tilden High School as part of Duracell’s “Trust Your Power” program to provide encouragement, motivation and a powerful donation for all involved.

Chicago NFL running back Matt Forte visits Tilden Career Community Academy High School in Chicago with teammates Earl Bennett and Kellen Davis, inspiring students to believe in themselves to achieve great things on and off the field as part of Duracell's "Trust Your Power" program. (Photo: Business Wire)

Duracell’s “Trust Your Power” program is led by National Football League (NFL) All Pro Linebacker Patrick Willis, who shared his inspiring journey through this video. As part of the program, Duracell is helping to inspire consumers to trust the power within to achieve their dreams while helping future generations through on and off the field donations across the country.

Chicago’s Tilden High School is the second stop on Duracell’s Trust Your Power journey. During the day, Matt Forte spoke at a surprise assembly, donated items on behalf of Duracell to help power students in the classroom and on the field, had an intimate lunch with the football team to discuss their dreams and struggles, and ran football practice with Chicago teammates Earl Bennett and Kellen Davis, with nearly 100 Tilden students cheering on the sidelines. Forte helped to re-ignite school spirit and got students excited for what lies ahead both on and off the field. The entire day can be viewed here.

“Trusting your power is about finding the power within to overcome obstacles and committing yourself to the hard work it will take to reach the goals you set for yourself,” said Forte. “Tilden football has had to deal with loss and struggles both on and off the field that you don’t wish upon anyone. Having the chance to spend the day with them was as much a treat for me as it was for them, and I hope they come out of that day with smiles, confidence and belief that they can reach their dreams.”

“Duracell is all about trusting your power when you need it most, so when we heard that the Tilden football team hasn’t won a game in four years and is using a vacated classroom as a locker room, we knew we had to make a visit,” said Dominic Iacono, brand manager, Duracell. “Each day we power the devices that these students use to succeed in the classroom and it felt only right that we take that a step further to help power their dreams.”

Consumers can show their support for Tilden High School and the Trust Your Power program on Duracell’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/duracell) or on Twitter by using the #TrustYourPower hashtag. Each hashtag will trigger a $1 commitment (up to $200,000) from Duracell, providing disadvantaged youth with scholarships to ProCamps, an organization that runs professional athletes’ personal sports camps for children ages 7-14. If the goal is reached, consumers will help send 1,000 underprivileged kids across the country to one of the approximate 40 different ProCamps of professional athletes.

Duracell donated football equipment and gear, as well as devices, including calculators, flashlights, stopwatches, heart rate monitors and more. All of the devices donated to Tilden High School will be powered by Duracell with Duralock Power Preserve Technology. Duracell with Duralock is packaged with a ”best by” date and is recognizable by the new Duralock ring providing consumers with instant recognition and the comfort of knowing that Duracell batteries left sitting in a drawer or locker will still work when they are needed most. Whether it’s a CopperTop, an Ultra Power, or a Rechargable battery, Duracell’s Duralock technology means that there’s a battery best suited for every lifestyle. The entire portfolio of Duracell batteries including Ultra (AA/AAA), CopperTop (AA/AAA/C/D/9V), Rechargeable (AA/AAA), Hearing Aid and Coin Button cells will carry a Duralock Power Preserve guarantee.

About Duracell

Part of the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), Duracell has been powering people around the world for more than 40 years. Our products serve as the heart of devices that keep people connected, protect their families, entertain them and simplify their increasingly mobile lifestyles. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance alkaline batteries, Duracell also innovates in lighting, renewable power and wireless charging technologies to help consumers live life without limits. Visit www.duracell.com for more information, follow us on Twitter.com/Duracell and like us on Facebook.com/Duracell.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves approximately 4.6 billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, Ambi Pur®, SK-II®, and Vicks®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 75 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

ABOUT NFL PLAYERS INC.

NFL PLAYERS INC. is the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association. Representing more than 1,800 NFL players, NFL PLAYERS INC. “takes the helmets off” the players and markets them as personalities as well as professional athletes. Through an exclusive sponsorship agreement with the NFL, players are integrated into NFL sponsor activations. NFL PLAYERS INC. activities include retail licensing, corporate partnerships, player marketing, special events, broadcast and publishing. For more information, please visit NFLPLAYERS.COM.

About ProCamps

Since 1998, ProCamps has developed, managed and operated sports camps and related events for professional athletes and coaches across every major sport. Over 100 of the world's most recognizable professional athletes and coaches have trusted ProCamps to operate their personal camps. Annually over 20,000 participants attend nearly 70+ camps finding inspiration, building confidence, and getting up-close and personal with their heroes. Each camp focuses on education, well-being, and fun as well as community goodwill. Additionally ProCamps has created and executed custom events for Fortune 500 brands. For additional information, please visit www.ProCamps.com. Follow on Twitter @ProCamps and Facebook www.facebook.com/procamps.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50455728&lang=en

Source: Procter & Gamble

Duracell
Laura Lewis, 513-622-3229
lewis.la.1@pg.com
or
Citizen Paine
Kristen Mueller, 212-613-4952
kristen.mueller@citizenrelations.com