Mission

My name is Hanna Elmallah, and I'm a senior at Western Albemarle High School. I started this non-profit with a mission to positivly impact my community in a area of focus that I'm passionate about. My mother raised me to believe in caring about the enviornment whilst she participated in mitigaton efforts, such as, recyling and composting. I've used her teachings and outspoken attitude to foster a drive for change. After many years of witnessing the effects of climate change, and reading first hand the problems our society will face in the coming years if a change is not made, I decided to start a non-profit.

Our plastic problem is my foundation for change. In terms of objective, I will use this website as a center for information, with easy access to local and national sources for data, articles, and statistics. After a completion of this website, I will begin contacting businesses in the Crozet, Charlottesville area including mainly restaurants. Once I've reached some success in that area, my long-term goal is to take on larger projects such as clubs, movie theathers, stores, and school systems. I will direct business management to my webiste, where they can learn about the harmful effects of single use plastic, and examples of environmentally friendly alternatives. Although I am the sole operator of this non-profit, I also have goals to recruit other students in my area who are passionate about this issues as well.

Success will be defined by reducing plastic use in any of the businesses I contact. This is a difficult undertaking, and many plastic alternatives are less cost effective. Convincing small businesses to spend more money to reduce the effects of soemthing they might not yet feel themselves, will be a challenge. Regardless of the success, my foundation is an attempt to make a change, and that can be nothing but a positive. My attempt at action might spark others to do the same, creating power in numbers, which will inevitably change the system.