En esta noticia
What began as a simple idea to help his community turned into a charity project that has already mobilized hundreds of people.
Ryan Hulance, a 13-year-old from Solihull, near Birmingham, England, turned collecting aluminum cans into a driver of social aid: in three years he recycled around 1.5 million cans and raised more than 22,000 dollars for food banks and community organizations.
The project of turning empty cans into donations for those who need them most
The project began with a personal concern. Ryan wanted his free time to have a real impact, amid a garbage collection crisis caused by a strike by municipal workers in Birmingham. That was when he began asking businesses and neighbors to save their empty drink cans for him.
His reflection sums up the spirit of the project. As he told the BBC, “I would rather be playing video games with my friends, because I am 13,” but he quickly added: “when I think about it, I love what I do because I can help people in need, families, by giving something back.”
That is how We Can CIC (Community Interest Company) was born, the initiative he founded with his family to turn thousands of empty cans into donations for those who need them most.
A boy recycled cans and in three years raised more than 22,000 dollars for food banks
The impact is measured in concrete numbers. Over the past three years, Ryan recycled approximately 1.5 million cans, which made it possible to raise nearly 22,500 dollars for charitable causes. In just the last year, he collected eight tons of cans and donated around 7,500 dollars to organizations such as the Anawim women’s support center in Birmingham.
The family sells the cans to scrap companies - which pay according to the weight of the aluminum - and all the money, once expenses are deducted, goes to food banks and community organizations. In total, about 6,250 dollars in cash and food are donated each year to different institutions.