Popular series turns recycling from inconvenience to habit – with impressive results
Cory Phillips and daughter Kendall recycle sneakers at Cool Kids! The popular event series attracts a large audience each week Fridays, at 7 p.m. at Sagawa Park, who recycle an average of 1,000- pairs of sneakers annually. Cook Kids! Green Kids! also recycles used school/office supplies each Friday. Submitted photo by Savannah Richards.Cool Kids! events have always encouraged “actively living green” but now the organization is reaching out as never before to turn those green thoughts into fun, active habits through large used sneaker and used school/office supplies drives! Families and communities are invited to bring these items to the “Cool Kids! Green Kids!” event series at Sagawa Park, 100 Main Street, Brockport, Fridays at 7 p.m. through July 27.
“The biggest barrier we’ve found to initiating a green project anywhere – is people’s belief that a new habit causes them an inconvenience. Saving their sneakers or bringing old office supplies to another location is seen as a big pain, compared to tossing them in the trash right now. But here’s what we know: We may talk green, but we don’t always walk green. Kids do what we do – not what we say. Those kids – teach their kids – who teach their kids. That’s the REAL green picture! Taking a few extra steps today – can change entire GENERATIONS long after we’re gone,” says Steve Appleton, Cool Kids! Director.
Cool Kids! collects used school and office supplies for GreenSeeds, a local nonprofit, which sorts and redistributes those supplies to non profits and school kids. Cool Kids! actively works with Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe, Monroe County Department of Environmental Services, and new partners Green Sneakers and Soles4Souls to collect and recycle sneakers to children in need or turn them into astroturf, insulation and more, Appleton said. These two recycling initiatives have resulted in an annual average of over 1,000 pairs of sneakers and 50 boxes of used office/school supplies collected the last four years.
Anyone can bring used school, office or craft supplies and old sneakers to any “Cool Kids! Green Kids!” event in Brockport (as well as other community donation sites) to be recycled. Participants are encouraged to check the complete lists of both recycling initiatives on the Cool Kids website and Facebook page (Cool Kids!).
Appleton sums up going green with this credo: “We really want people to think – at the moment they’re going to toss – ‘Can I recycle or reuse this?’ That’s the start of a new habit! That’s the habit kids pick up on – and pass to their kids! That’s green! That’s action! That’s cool.”
Cool Kids! is actively seeking those who want to start their own school supply or sneaker drives at their local school, office or gym. Contact Cool Kids! at coolkids@rochester.rr.com for simple tips, advice and support for starting your local drive. For a complete list of donation sites and event schedules, visit www.generationcool.biz. or on Facebook: (Cool Kids!) For information: call The Cool Hotline at 585-637-3984. Cool Kids! is a program of B.I.S.C.O. (Brockport Integrated Service Community Organization).
