CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Former Queens men's soccer player Luke Graycheck has organized a campus-wide recycling campaign, Recyclemania, and the Department of Athletics has joined with him on Feb. 24 for its “Go Green” initiative during two home basketball games against Mount Olive College at 5:30pm and 7:30pm.
Recycle Mania is a 10 weeklong event that started during the week of Feb. 16, has a goal to raise awareness on the amount of recyclable items we throw away, and how easy it is to recycle.
“I decided to partner with the Department of Athletics to help further my cause and when I found out for every recyclable item that is brought to the games on Feb. 28, Performance Pilates will donate $1.00 to Urban Ministries for bus tickets, it sounded like a great 'Go Green' event,” said Graycheck.
Queens already works with Room In the Inn which is a part of Urban Ministries Center (UMC). For this initiative to 'Go Green', it made sense for Performance Pilates to purchase the much needed bus tickets for UMC. UMC distributes the bus tickets to those in need to use for doctor visits, interviews, and to get to and from their employment. This helps members of the community who survive by using public transportation to get to and from work, but also helps the environment by cutting back on fossil fuel usage.
“One of the biggest obstacles for many in our community is transportation to and from work and a simple bus pass can mean keeping or losing a job," said Liz Hilliard, owner of Performance Pilates. “They're 'ticket to ride' is their ticket to survival."
“It is uncommon for many people to take the time to recycle, at least without an incentive,” said Graycheck. “Most people don't consider what happens to the trash they produce that harms the very earth we commonly take for granted. With this in mind, certain incentives have been put in place to help encourage students to come out to the event.”
The Department of Athletics has also dubbed the game its “Fan Appreciation Night.” For every recyclable item a fan brings to the game they will receive a raffle ticket that can win them one of more than 50 prizes donated by local businesses. The raffle drawings will take place all night long during time-outs and halftimes of the basketball games. Prizes include gift certificates from Brixx Pizza, Providence Café , the Queens book store, Moe's, Jason's Deli, NoFo, Melting Pot and many other establishments.
The Recycle Mania event on campus pits different dorms against one another to see who can recycle the most in the 10 week period. Each dorm will have a container at the game in addition to a recycling bin for concessions recyclables and any faculty and staff recyclables. The dorm that collects the most recyclables at the game, earns the concession stand, faculty/staff bin, to be added to their overall collection amount.
“I did play soccer here at Queen's and enjoyed every minute of it. Now that I am not playing, I do have the extra time to donate to such an important cause,” commented Graycheck. “In a way I consider it both giving back to the Queens community as well as doing my part.”
“I am an advocate for anything that involves the green movement. I also find this an opportunity for people at Queens to remember me by as I will be transferring next semester to pursue a major in sustainability at Arizona State University, so I am glad I can leave my trail behind in such a positive way.”
