Dec. 31 deadline for Cedar Rapids and Iowa City-area youth and school groups to earn up to $1,000

Money can be used for custom apparel, traveling, event expenses or whatever groups might need

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Youth groups, high school groups and K-12 school groups within a 50-mile radius of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City have until Wednesday, Dec. 31 to earn up to $1,000 in cash funding or custom apparel through the "Better Community Connections" sponsorship program from U.S. Cellular® and Pear. Groups, from youth or high school sports teams to academic clubs and music groups, can utilize their social networks to complete online tasks to earn sponsorship dollars for the items they need most. The best part is that it's completely free.

In fact, 19 groups in the state have already earned $5,852 for band and orchestra groups, academic clubs and athletic teams, with those numbers continuing to grow.

"This is such an amazing opportunity for Cedar Rapids and Iowa City-area youth and school groups to utilize on traveling, paying for equipment or event expenses, custom apparel or whatever they might need," said Jared Golden, Pear's co-founder. "Pear is designed to bring two organizations together - those seeking funding and those seeking groups to sponsor. This 'Better Community Connections' sponsorship is a win-win for both parties and makes it easy for youth and school groups to earn funding."

Visit www.pearup.com/uscellularsponsors to create a sponsorship page, and then invite friends, family and others to join. Once a sponsorship page is created, the group has 10 days to earn up to $1,000 toward a donation or custom apparel. The more people who support the page and interact with U.S. Cellular on the site, the more money the group earns. Groups can earn points by completing simple online tasks, like visiting U.S. Cellular's website, subscribing to an email list, liking U.S. Cellular on Facebook or answering a survey. There is no purchase necessary to participate.

For every Pear referred into the program, Pear will add $50 to both the referrer and referee Pear. Adult groups will be allowed to participate as long as they are in support of a youth or school purpose, including Parent-Teacher Associations, booster clubs and similar groups.

For more information about Pear or the sponsorship, visit www.pearup.com/uscellularsponsors.

About U.S. Cellular

At U.S. Cellular®, we focus on having the world's best customer service and delivering industry-leading innovations. Our strong line-up of cutting-edge devices are designed to simplify and organize your life. For more information, visit www.uscellular.com.

About Pear

Pear makes sponsorship easy for groups and events of all shapes and sizes. Find a sponsor in less than 60 seconds and activate your community to raise up to $1,000 or more toward custom shirts, cash donations, products and services or food and catering from a national brand or local business near you. For more information, visit www.pearup.com.