KEVIN FERRY

Kevin Ferry is a 14 year-old eighth-grader at Palmer Junior Middle School. He single-handedly started a newspaper-recycling program at his school. Last year he was walking to the cafeteria and found a newspaper all over the ground. He thought about the fact that the school gets about 100 newspapers every day. Evidently most of them go into the garbage each day. That sparked the idea to start a newspaper-recycling program. After discussing his idea with principals, teachers and janitors at his school, Kevin began spending two hours a week placing collection boxes in classrooms, and then transporting used papers to a local recycling center (with help from his mother). This year, Kevin is using bins on wheels to handle the heavy loads. Kevin said he plans to take his recycling project to the local high school next year and also will work to ensure that it continues at his middle school. He learned the responsibility of a job, and that appreciation comes from her service to the school, the community and through hard work.