Banners to Backpacks

Today’s sign is tomorrow’s backpack

We turn banners from events like the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am into backpacks filled with school supplies to support local students.

Signs from the 2019 WNBA All-Star game made into kits for Las Vegas homeless – Nov. 18, 2019

When AT&T employees in Las Vegas, Nevada, stepped up to the line to give back to the community, their efforts were nothing but net. October 28, more than 30 employees joined forces with the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE to stuff upcycled draw string bags with essentials for the homeless population at Las Vegas City Hall.

The event, part of AT&T's Banners to Backpack program, used bags created from AT&T-branded signs used during the 2019 WNBA All-Star game held in Las Vegas earlier in the year. A total of 1,000 homeless kits were created during the event.

2,500 students head back to school with AT&T upcycled backpacks – Sept. 5, 2019

As families get ready for the new school year, we’re providing backpacks filled with school supplies to students in need. This year, 2,500 students in Texas and California received backpacks through AT&T’s Banners to Backpacks program.

AT&T is committed to supporting students, caring for the environment, and helping the communities where we live and work. One way we bring those commitments to life is by upcycling materials from AT&T-sponsored events. Upcycling is the process of taking material in its current form and transforming it into something new. In 2019, AT&T is upcycling more than 50,200 sq ft of material from events across the country. (That’s enough to cover the Statue of Liberty from heel to torch about 3 times!) Almost 20,000 items are being created from the upcycled material, and over 300 employees have volunteered to support the program.

This year’s backpacks were created with materials from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, held in Monterey, California, and AT&T Byron Nelson, held in Dallas, Texas. We worked with 14 nonprofits to distribute them to students in those communities.

Here’s to the start of a great school year!

1. Employees at AT&T’s campus in El Segundo, California, with one of the 500 backpacks filled with school supplies prepared for students in Los Angeles.

2. AT&T Employees in Dallas, Texas, fill backpacks with school supplies to support local students.

3. A student picks up an upcycled backpack from California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo during a back-to-school event held at a local Boys & Girls Club in the Los Angeles area.

4. Salinas, California Mayor Joe Gunter and Dr. Bettye Saxon, AT&T director of community and government relations, prepare to distribute backpacks to students at the Boys & Girls Club of Monterey County.

AT&T employees hit the course to help transform banners to backpacks – May 14, 2019

Monday, May 13, AT&T employees hit the links at the Trinity Forest Golf Club to collect branded signage and scrim used during the AT&T Byron Nelson for the company’s upcycling program.

Typically golf tournaments use about four tons of woven vinyl and cloth material throughout the course. This material, called scrim, is used for signage, to wrap bleachers, or designate walking paths, but when tournaments ends much of that material is destined for landfills.

More than 30,000 square feet of signage and scrim was gathered by employees on Monday. This is enough material to cover the Statue of Liberty from heel to torch twice.

The material from the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson will be transformed into 1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies for students in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio ahead of the next school year.

2019 Byron Nelson Update – May 9, 2019

It’s great to be back at the Byron Nelson, where our upcycling program began last year. This year, we’ll upcycle about 30,000 sq ft of material from the AT&T Byron Nelson to create and donate 1,000 backpacks in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of our upcycling efforts, AT&T Athlete Jordan Spieth autographed 3 pieces of upcycled merchandise and we’re giving them away to fans. Head over to our @ATTimpact Instagram account for your chance to own a piece of sporting history. Sweepstakes rules are available here.

Fore! A Good Cause: AT&T Expands Banners to Backpacks Program to AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - Feb. 4, 2019

We’re playing another round.

Last year, we launched our Banners to Backpacks Program at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Now, we’ve decided to expand the program to include at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

After the tournament, we will gather scrim – the material that wraps bleachers and scoreboards – and other materials to create at least 1,000 backpacks for local students. We’ll fill the bags with school supplies and distribute them just in time for back-to-school season in August. To promote the initiative during the tournament we upcycled all the caddie bibs used during the 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson into zipper pouches. These pouches are filled with golf tees and will be given to the players and other attendees.

Through Banners to Backpacks, we’ll continue to upcycle signage from events we sponsor into materials that make a difference in the communities where we live and work.

What makes upcycling different from recycling? The materials don’t need to be broken down before they’re reused. The patterns for backpacks and bags are cut directly from the existing signage.

We were able to make 1,300 backpacks from 10,000 yards of signage and scrim at last year’s AT&T Byron Nelson.

Our employees donated school supplies and volunteered their time to stuff the backpacks and give them to students in Dallas and Houston. We were also able to donate backpacks filled with books and toys to children in California affected by the Camp Fire.

Learn more about AT&T’s social responsibility efforts at att.com/csr.