Recycling program helps fund scholarships
 HFM
BOCES Career & Technical Center is putting recyclable bottles to
good use by using them to help fund scholarships.
Guidance Counselor Charis Kakavelos said the CTC scholarship
committee gives out two $500 HFM Career & Technical Center
Outstanding Professional Student Awards each year. In the past,
fundraisers such as ziti dinners and chicken barbecues have
generated money for the awards. But while brainstorming ideas to
raise additional funds, the committee latched onto the idea of
an ongoing bottle drive.
“We saw the bottles already being recycled [around the
building],” said Mrs. Kakavelos. Taking over that piece of the
building’s recycling efforts seemed a fairly effortless way to
raise additional scholarship funds.
Mrs. Kakavelos said the scholarship committee received
permission to use the existing blue bins, then asked Andy Huth’s
Digital Multimedia class to design colorful posters to wrap
around the barrels.
“The class came up with a few prototypes and we chose one,” said
Mrs. Kakavelos. “It was nice to have their help.”
There are currently three bins dedicated to the scholarship fund
drive. One is in the front lobby; a second in the cafeteria and
a third is located in the teachers’ break room in Special
Education. The program started in March, Mrs. Kakavelos said,
and as of July 27, $174.32 has been collected through the bottle
drive.
Account clerk Lisa Royal, a member of the scholarship committee,
takes care of bottle returns.
Ms. Royal said she’s hoping to partner with a local bottle
recycling center so that people can drop off their recyclables
and ask that the 5 cents-per-bottle refund be donated to the CTC
scholarship fund.
Although the recycling program isn’t the only source of
scholarship funds – the chicken barbecues and ziti dinners will
continue since they’ve been successful events – Mrs. Kakavelos
said she hopes the bottle donations will continue to grow. “We’d
love to offer more scholarships,” Mrs. Kakavelos said. “We have
so many kids who are worthy.”
Ms. Royal agreed. “We can give more money to students or come up
with another scholarship,” Royal said. “Kids need as much
financial help as they can get.” |
