advertisement

Lake Villa teen's group promotes small changes to help the Earth

What started as a spontaneous thought to pick up trash along a bike path has blossomed into a community volunteer effort for an 18-year-old Lake Villa resident.

Through a group she created called Making a Change, Holly Cervantes is showing that making small changes and smart choices can help individuals improve the communities where they live.

"A lot of people think if we do one thing, it won't affect the whole world. But, I feel if everyone gets involved, it can make a difference," said Cervantes, who graduated from Lakes Community High School in December.

Holly Cervantes helps teens who attended one of her indoor environmental programs. Cervantes hopes through her organization, Making A Change, that individuals learn how making small changes can make a bigger impact on the environment. Courtesy of Abby Scalf

The idea began while she and a friend were bike riding along a path in Round Lake Beach and noticed garbage strewed along the path. Grabbing a garbage bag, they picked up the trash.

"Within 10 minutes, we noticed the bag was full," Cervantes said.

Creating social media pages on Facebook and Instagram, Cervantes created Making A Change. To start, she organized weekly garbage cleanups where, she hoped, volunteers could come together for a couple of hours to beautify communities, including the Round Lake area, Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Villa, Antioch and Zion.

"It gives people a chance to help out in such a simple, meaningful way. We are benefiting the Earth as we clean it, but we also are educating ourselves in how we need to be more eco-friendly to prevent needing too many cleanups," said Cristina Galati, 18, of Lake Villa, who has volunteered at some of the cleanups.

To seek support for the cleanups, Cervantes reached out to area villages. One village that responded was Round Lake, which has helped publicize the cleanups in the village flyer, supplied garbage bags and picked up the filled garbage bags.

"The village is happy to help any resident who is looking to improve our village," said Adam Wedoff, the village's director of public works. "If we can work together and benefit the whole community, it serves everybody."

Cervantes' efforts are a great benefit to clean and beautify the village, Wedoff said, but what's more important is a member of the community is taking the initiative to show pride in her hometown.

A big part of Holly Cervantes' group Making A Change is holding garbage cleanups in communities across Lake County. Courtesy of Holly Cervantes

"To take the initiative to do any community work in her hometown, it's fantastic," he said. "The fact that a young community member is focused and wants to see improvement is fabulous, and the village is going to be behind that 100%."

As the weather got colder, Cervantes decided to move efforts indoors while continuing to teach through activities and providing information on helping the environment. One such program allowed participants to make products that are more environmentally friendly, such as toothpaste and makeup remover.

She also organized a gathering to make gifts, such as Mason hot cocoa jars that use biodegradable products. Her mother, Kathryn Cervantes, was most impressed that when the weather got colder, the group didn't fizzle out.

"She told me, 'It isn't just about picking up garbage. I want to make an impact by teaching myself and teaching others,'" Kathryn Cervantes said.

"As a mom, I realized this was more than a teenage fleeting idea," she added.

Sarah Morley brought her children, Jimmy and Vivian, to a special program where they learned how to use biodegradable and other materials to make hot cocoa Mason jar gifts. Courtesy of Abby Scalf

Sarah Morley, Cervantes' English teacher at Lakes High, decided to bring her children, Jimmy, 8, and Vivian, 5, to make the hot cocoa gifts. Morley said Cervantes is showing classmates, teachers and the community how to reduce their carbon footprint.

"She is teaching practical things you can do every day to show what you can do matters," Morley said.

Cervantes said people may talk about global warming and climate change, but children may not understand what that really means. She is hoping through the cleanups, the indoor programs and by providing information through her social media pages, she can provide facts and motivate them to learn more.

"Even if we do small things, it can make a big difference," said Nathan Christian, 16, of Round Lake Beach.

As Cervantes looks toward college, she hopes to see Making A Change grow, including resuming cleanups in the spring.

"I want to do as many cleanups as we can, to get as many people out there cleaning up the communities as possible," she said.

Galati said Cervantes found a mission that should be important to everyone, and she is making it a reality.

"Holly has shown me, and others, that the environment, our home, is truly at risk, and if we do not take action and help others learn about what is happening, we will lose our one and only home," she said.

Learn more about Making A Change by visiting the Facebook page "Making A Change: Our Steps to Improve Our Planet" and the Instagram page _makingachangee

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.