Around Our Communities

KHU goes green

April 25, 2008, April 22 was Earth Day, and from northern Illinois down to south Florida, Kids Hope United has been doing its part to "go green" and help protect the environment.

Throughout all regions, KHU employees have been participating in cell phone recycling, which helps keep mercury and other toxic chemicals from polluting the air and getting into our water supply. Collection boxes have been placed in the Northern Region offices in Lake Villa, Waukegan and Chicago; Hudelson Region offices in Collinsville and Springfield; and the Florida Region office in Miami. Other offices can have an informal collection box and then send to their regional "collection office."

Each filled box (100 - 200 phones) is shipped free of charge to RecycleFirst, an organization in the consumer and corporate recycling industry. RecycleFirst then pays for the recycled phones, providing KHU with additional funds to support our programs.

In addition, the Lake Villa office recently launched a recycling program for the entire campus. Each of the seven campus buildings has at least one recycling bin. Staff there were so committed to making the recycling program work, that they spent two months researching how best to do it. Their solution even resulted in saving $95/month in garbage disposal expenses.

The Lake Villa project helps preserve the environment while setting an example for the children in the CARE residential program. CARE staff recently coordinated a recycling plan to teach the kids the importance of recycling.

Additional KHU offices are looking into ways to recycle and conserve energy, including the East Lake office.

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