Words by Smiley Team
Genshu Price is an inspirational 14-year-old Hawaii teenager, on a mission to help students in his home state save for college.
It was Genshu's father who initially encouraged him to start saving for college – so the teen decided to start collecting and recycling bottles and cans in exchange for cash.
However, as he says, "it started as a personal project for myself but I quickly realized there's so much more I can do!"
He set up Bottles4College, a non-profit organization that aims to fund college tuition for Hawaii students every year. "Our goal is to create a system where we are collecting at least 2-4 million recyclable cans and bottles annually in order to be able to fund college tuition scholarships for 1-4 Hawaii students annually," he says.
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The average annual cost of attendance in college has increased to 37% over the last decade in the United States – so, many students are looking for alternative paths to education to offset the rising costs. As of now, one in four schools costs $50,000 or more per year.
Bottles4College was founded as an organization in March 2021 and had incredible support from the community in its first year. "We are steadily growing and can't wait to see what's in store for the new year," says Genshu.
The nonprofit it built around four pillars: education, environment, community, and lifestyle.
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“We’re helping the environment by recycling,” Price told the Associated Press. "We’re helping education by providing scholarship funds for Hawaii kids and inspiring them to want to get a good education. And then your bringing communities together."
The soon-to-be eighth-grader is also a budding filmmaker, having produced a documentary on his efforts. He has a YouTube channel where he gives suggestions on how to sort cans and bottles and encourages others to recycle.
To keep his organization going, volunteers are needed. You can join Genshu in collecting recyclable bottles and cans to benefit children, their future, and the environment.
Those in Hawaii can sign up to help sort cans and bottles and join in their effort to collect recyclable cans and bottles to pay college tuition for Hawaii students. You can also directly donate to the nonprofit to help fund the program. Visit Bottles4College to get involved.
