Cox Conserves Heroes is part of Cox Enterprises’ national sustainability initiative, Cox Conserves, and is designed to recognize people and organizations making a positive impact on our environment. This year, we received hundreds of nominations for this prestigious honor from across the country, and an internal council of social impact and environmental leaders has selected nine finalists across three categories: Youth Volunteer, Adult Volunteer and Non-Profit Special Project.
We are excited to share that we have a finalist local to our California footprint! Ryan Hickman is a San Juan Capistrano-native who, in 2012 at the young age of 3, organized a neighborhood recycling campaign. Over the next 10 years, that initial foray has grown into a movement resulting in more than 1.7 million recycled cans and bottles – that’s over 85 tons! Ryan is the founder of Project 3R, which received a Cox Charities Community Grant this summer. He leads and organizes weekly beach cleanup events in his community, and he even travels internationally to speak about recycling and saving our planet from plastic pollution. Along the way, Ryan has won dozens of awards and appeared in countless media, including the Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Click here to learn more about Ryan.
You can vote for Ryan and others now through October 10. Be sure to click here and take a few moments to cast a vote. By voting, you’re playing a role in helping achieve Cox Conserves’ aggressive goals. Since 2007, Cox Conserves has invested more than $100 million in more than 400 sustainability and conservation projects. As a result, the program has already met its 2024 goal of zero waste to landfill, and is well on its way to becoming carbon and water neutral by 2034.
First place winners in each category will receive $30,000 to be donated to an environmental nonprofit of their choice, courtesy of the James M. Cox Foundation. Second and third places in each category will receive $15,000 and $5,000 respectively. Winners will be announced on October 18.
Photo Credit: Cox Communications
