St. Patrick Catholic School promotes recycling programs
"I grew up knowing the importance of being a good steward of the earth," says Judi Willard, the development director for St. Patrick Catholic School in Springfield. "My father, Bill Dennis, owned two salvage yards, one in Lincoln and one in Bloomington, so we were taught you had to reduce, reuse and recycle. It just makes sense. There is only so much room in the landfills, so what are you going to do? You recycle."
Now thanks to Willard's efforts, St. Patrick has partnered with the Green Business Network of Springfield (GBNS) so that local individuals will be depositing less waste in landfills. Additionally, she's begun other recycling efforts that will help St. Patrick, an independent elementary school that serves about 68 children in grades PreK-5.
A former teacher's aide at the school, Willard began putting her communications degree to work in January as the school's development director. One of her first projects was to start an aluminum can recycling program. She asked that children bring in cans from home and drop them in a specially-decorated receptacle.
"It's just a trash can that's decorated to be pretty and it sits in the lunch room," she says. "But every week that can was filled." After several months, Willard took the cans to another Springfield recycler (Mervis Iron and Supply Recycling) and cashed them in for "about $75."
"That doesn't sound like much money but it gave ownership to the students," says Willard. "When you think about it, $75 will pay one child's tuition for one month."
In February, Willard gave Bill Mills, manager of the Energy Services Office at CWLP who works with GBNS, a tour of the building. GBNS is a network of firms and organizations that share knowledge, experience and resources to promote measurable sustainability efficiencies like energy efficiency, discard recycling/reuse and water conservation.
After talking to Mills, Willard says she decided to further combine recycling and development efforts by partnering with GBNS.
Sometimes financial help comes from parishes that recycle. For example, earlier this year Willard received a $300 donation from St. Jude's Catholic Church in Rochester. "That is not out of the ordinary; the school is the beneficiary of many philanthropic organizations and people," she says. What made the situation unique for Willard was the memo that read: recycling can donation.
When she called the church office to express her appreciation for the donation, Willard found out that St. Jude has been collecting the cans for years — she just hadn't been made aware of the program. "Still, when the check arrived from St. Jude it was clear that this is something that can grow," she says.
"The church has a small area in their garage sectioned off where parishioners can drop their donations and then once a month they fill up a truck and cash in the cans for St. Pat's and also St. Martin de Porres," she says.
Willard, who is affectionately known as Jude to close friends and family, says she was inspired by the generosity of St. Jude parishioners. "Coincidence or divine providence? You decide," she says. "It's a sign that St. Pat's is on track with their recycling efforts. If we can inspire the whole community to give back it's really a win-win for everyone, a blessing to a non-profit and a blessing to the environment."
For more information on the Green Business Network of Springfield, go to the website at www.GBNS.org.