California Youth Honored by National Award for Heroic Service Activity
Boulder, CO, September 17, 2018 – Ryan Hickman, age 9, of San Juan Capistrano, California, has been named a 2018 honoree by the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Each year, the Barron Prize celebrates 25 inspiring, public-spirited young people – some named as winners and some named as honorees – who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment. This year’s ten Barron Prize honorees are an outstanding group of young leaders chosen from nearly four hundred applicants across the U.S. and Canada.
Ryan created Ryan’s Recycling Company (www.ryansrecycling.com) to keep cans, plastic bottles, and glass from polluting our environment. He is most passionate about protecting ocean animals from harm caused by trash. He has personally kept 76,000 pounds of pollution out of the ocean and our landfills. Ryan began his work as a 3-year-old, asking neighbors for their bottles and cans. Today, he coordinates pick-ups of recyclables from homes and businesses throughout Orange County and with his family’s help, delivers them by the truckload to the local redemption center every few weeks. Ryan’s redemption dollars are earmarked for college, though he’ll tell you he is saving for a large trash truck. He has also created and sells company t-shirts, donating all proceeds — $8,000 so far – to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a non-profit that rescues and rehabilitates seals and sea lions. “I’ve learned that recycling is so important and that one person can truly make a difference,” says Ryan. “I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and I hope everyone joins me.”
The Barron Prize was founded in 2001 by author T. A. Barron and was named for his mother, Gloria Barron. Each year’s 25 Barron Prize young heroes reflect the great diversity of America. They are female and male, urban and rural, and from various backgrounds. Many of them have focused on helping their communities and fellow beings; many others have focused on protecting the environment.
“Nothing is more inspiring than stories about heroic people who have truly made a difference to the world,” says Barron. “And we need our heroes today more than ever. Not celebrities, but heroes – people whose character can inspire us all. That is the purpose of the Gloria Barron Prize: to shine the spotlight on these amazing young people so that their stories will inspire others.”
For more information, please visit www.barronprize.org
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