In January, the City of Fontana was recognized for outstanding achievements as a community and recycler by two different national award campaigns, America's Promise's 100 Best Communities for Young People and the U.S. Conference of Mayor's Cans for Cash.

100 Best Communities for Young People

When Fontana competed for the highly competitive national award, the city was joined by a total of 750 other communities who felt they too offered America's youth a large assortment of caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education, and an opportunity to help others. Only 300 of the original applicants made it to the final round and of those, only 100 were selected.

"We always greet people with It's a great day in Fontana now I am proud to say It's a great life in Fontana ," exclaimed Mayor Mark Nuaimi at the January Business Roundtable. He added, "Our youth are our future and they are in need and deserving of substantial investment. By forming partnerships with all sectors of the community, Fontana is able to provide and even anticipate service needs. People who have chosen Fontana as a place to raise their family love this community and are very happy with their choice."

There are five main goals of the America's Promise Alliance: to provide children with caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education, and an opportunity to help others. The 100 Best award is a recognition of communities who have successfully excelled in each of the goal areas.

Applicants must submit detailed information to the Alliance on existing community programs and initiatives. They must also provide proof of how they work together as a community to help students graduate from high school prepared for college and/or the workforce.

Award-Winning Programs

Being named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People involves cooperation and commitment from the entire community. There were many programs that contributed to the award. A few include:

. Lewis Library and Technology Center is scheduled to open in Spring, 2008. The facility is 95,000 square feet with more than half being dedicated to youth. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. children's section will house materials and programs for young readers and give them public access computers, Spanish language computers, story time programs, a multimedia center, tutoring, homework clubs, and more.
. Fontana After School Program is a partnership between the City of Fontana, Fontana Unified School District, the Fontana Boys and Girls Club, and Healthy Fontana. Nearly 3,000 public school students stay after school for homework assistance, activities, sports and a healthy snack. The program specifically targets at-risk and latch-key children and aims to combat the nationwide childhood obesity epidemic.
. Award-Winning Youth Sports Program This program which has been awarded the national 'Connector of the Year' by Positive Coaching Alliance. This award recognized the city for educating more than 5,000 parents and coaches on principals of positive coaching and for making a difference in the lives of thousands of young people.

The 100 Best Communities for Young People is an annual award. 2007 was the first time the City of Fontana has applied for the award, but according to Mayor Nuaimi, it will not be the last. To view the media conference, please visit http://fontana.12milesout.com/ClientWebApp/Fontana/Video.aspx?VideoId=0d0c 3de0-ba7f-455c-b89b-4376d3f8c227

Cans for Cash - Second Year in a Row!

In late December, the U.S. Council of Mayors announced the City of Fontana as the winner for the annual Cans for Cash aluminum can recycling contest sponsored by the United States Council of Mayors, Novelis Corporation, and Keep America Beautiful.

Cans for Cash is designed to help cities, schools, nonprofit organizations and others to build partnerships by promoting the benefits of recycling. Participating cities are placed into one of four divisions based on the population of the city. Fontana is in Division 2 for 100,000 to 249,999 people.

"By recycling these aluminum cans, cities avoided more than 24,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions which is equivalent to taking more than 25,000 cars off the road for a year," said Kevin Greenawalt, President of Novelis North America.

In 2006, Fontana secured the national first place title by collecting 213,000 lbs. of aluminum cans during a two week period. This year, the City collected 745,000 lbs. of aluminum cans over a four week period which averages to approximately 186,250 lbs. per week.

Mayor Mark Nuaimi is certain Fontana will continue to excel in this nationwide campaign.

"In this time when most communities are talking 'Green', Fontana is putting words to action in our recycling efforts. I am proud our community was able to defend our title back-to-back and I look forward to our 'three-peat' next year," says Nuaimi.

All winning cities receive a cash donation based on the division size. Fontana will receive $5,000 which will then be invested in local recycling programs and educational outreach materials.

The future is definitely bright for the City of Fontana. Area youth are receiving quality resources that affect all aspects of their lives. Children are living in areas where they can grow and mature. Development is based on youth and a high regard for quality of life that is afforded to all citizens no matter their age. Nationally, Fontana is being recognized for these practices as being one of the best places to live in America.