Helping to keep schoolchildren safe and warm this winter, Consumers Energy is working with a Michigan-based business to provide products to over 900 West and Northern Michigan schools that quickly dry cold and wet gloves and mittens.

This week, TheGreenGloveDryer® School Project is delivering 3,140 EcoDryers to classrooms in nearly 60 public, private and charter schools in the Traverse Bay area. Consumers Energy is funding the school outreach to help students just in time for another cold Michigan winter.

“Consumers Energy is committed to the success of schools in the communities we serve,” said Lauren Youngdahl Snyder, Consumers Energy’s vice president of customer experience. “Green Glove Dryers have helped children stay warm and dry without wasting energy, and we are excited to see the difference they can make for tens of thousands more children in these schools.”

The collaboration between Consumers Energy and TheGreenGloveDryer® is helping schools in 29 counties. Green Glove Dryers are being delivered this week through December. (Read more about Consumers Energy’s relationship with this Kalamazoo County-based business at www.ConsumersEnergy.com/hometownstory.) 

Karen Smoots invented TheGreenGloveDryer®, which positions gloves and mittens over heating vents, nearly five years ago to combat the wet outdoor gear generated by her winter-loving southwest Michigan family. Tired of her two boys coming home from school with wet gloves and mittens, she invented the eco-friendly TheGreenGloveDryer®.

“The wet glove problem is cumbersome in our state, especially during the winter months. Having gloves and mittens that are not drying completely is a community health and wellness concern,” Smoots said. “Our new TheEcoDryer® not only addresses energy efficiency like its predecessor, but we’ve added antimicrobial technology that inhibits 99 percent of bacteria and fungi to help combat the spread of germs in the classrooms.”

Consumers Energy has also created classroom activity worksheets to engage students about the energy efficiency benefits of using TheEcoDryer® by TheGreenGloveDryer® in their classrooms. Consumers Energy works every day to help Michigan homes and businesses reduce energy waste, helping customers save over $1.5 billion in energy costs since 2009.

Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

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Media Contacts:

Consumers Energy: Brian Wheeler, 517-788-2394, or Roger Morgenstern, 616-530-4364

GreenGloveDryer: Stephanie Dukesherer, stephdukes@gmail.com or269-217-7535

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For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com

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Consumers Energy

Consumers Energy

Consumers Energy is one of the nation's largest combination utilities, providing electric and natural gas service to nearly 6.6 million of Michigan's 10 million residents, in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Our Growing Forward strategy calls for investing more than $6 billion in Michigan over the next five years. That includes significant investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, environmental and customer service enhancements, and new power generation.

The investments make Consumers Energy one of the largest investors in Michigan and will help the utility maintain and improve service to customers, create jobs, boost the state’s economy and expand the state’s tax base.

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