Green Talk

Photo of Lunch Saks by permission of Project Kool

Want to stop global warming? Just ask a kid. More specifically ask Hunter Gross, a 12 year child from Long Island whose desire to save the Earth resulted in the creation of Project Kool’s Lunch Sak. These canvas lunch bags were created to reduce the endless stream of plastic and paper attributed to children’s lunches.

Global warming lessons are as common in the schools now as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are eaten during lunch. In Hunter’s case, this lesson struck a cord, and he knew that he wanted to do something to help stop global warming. This wasn’t just a whim of the day like many children have. He was serious. So, the Gross household brain stormed, and the end result was the creation of the Lunch Sak, an all natural cotton canvas washable lunch bag with a Velcro closure. Extremely kid friendly.

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 Courtesy of TerraCycle, Inc.

What does fundraising, soda bottles, yogurt cups, drinking pouches, and worm poop have in common?  Give up?  I know that is a tough set of words to figure out the correlation.  Just ask the innovative folks over at TerraCycle, maker of worm poop fertilizer and other assorted eco-friendly gardening products.  They will tell you that it’s their mission to rid the world of waste through creating innovative uses of products that you would ordinarily throw away.  Their worm poop product is bottled in recycled soda bottles.

 How does this involve our young?  What better way to teach this lesson than to create fundraisers involving children to collect items that can be reused?   If our young can be taught at an early age to respect the Earth, then when they grow up as adults this thought process will be second nature to them. This is what the TerraCycle clan is banking on.  They are planting the seeds in our children, and nurturing this “help the Earth” concept.  This is not much different than what their worm poop fertilizer does for plants.

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 Photo by Tannazie by permission under the Creative Commons Share-Alike License 2.0

Although it is still October, the holiday season will be upon us sooner than you think.  In anticipation of this season, PTAs, charities, and religious organizations all over the country will be unveiling holiday fundraisers in the form of holiday wrapping paper, cookie dough sales, and mugs and calendars for grandparents.  This is only some of the possible fundraisers that schools, religious organizations, and other community groups sponsor throughout the year.

I know as a parent I hate these fundraisers.  How much gift wrap do you need?  I could not eat another cheese cake or order anymore stationary for my children.  How many trees have we cut down in the name of fundraisers?  How much sugar have we consumed in order to supplement needed programs at our community organizations? 

Don’t get me wrong.  Fundraising is necessary to supplement the income of an organization, institute special programs, or provide supplies which are needed.  Unfortunately, the amount of hours needed for some fundraisers and the money earned has caused organizations to rethink their fundraising strategies. What if there were new fundraisers that were available that were fun, easy, and had an environmental purpose?  With the news constantly bombarding us with global warming issues, people are trying to make a conscious effort to be aware of their impact on the Earth.

Would it be easier to market a “save the Earth” fundraiser rather than a tired old fundraiser that has been done over and over again?  It is worth a shot.

 Just to give an example, a couple of years ago, my school joined Staples’ Recycling for Education program, which I am in charge of.  We collect inkjet print and laser toner cartridges and send them back to Staples for money.

This fundraiser is a no brainier and people drop off their cartridges in a box in the school office. In turn, our school collects $3 for each eligible cartridge and we are doing our part to keep our share of print cartridges out of landfills.

Are there any other fundraisers out there that either are as simple as Staples’ or at least parents could buy something benefiting the Earth, such as a “feel good fundraiser”? 

 Here is a list of the “no brainier” fundraisers where all people have to do is drop off the requested collectible in a box at the school or any community organization. Many of the organizations pay for shipping as well.  I have provided a brief synopsis of these fundraisers and urge you to click on the link to read more about these programs, or visit my site during the week when I will go into more depth about these fundrasiers.