Gwinnett Daily Post

DACULA — Charles Orgbon became involved with environmental issues when he was in fifth grade.

A student at a private Catholic school in South Carolina, Orgbon was required to participate in service projects. His involved picking up litter around campus.

• What: Pepsi Refresh competition

• When: Voting ends Friday

• Where: Visit www.refresheverything.com/recyclingeducation or text 104604 to 73774.

“I was looking for ways to engage myself,” he said, “(but) then (environmental issues) really wasn’t a passion.”

The more he learned, however, the more the passion developed. In sixth grade, he started an Earth Savers Club at school. The next year, at age 12, he created an interactive website called Recycling Education that addressed many environmental issues.

That website turned into a nonprofit organization called Greening Forward, which helps create awareness for environmental issues with programs for schools, communities and work places.

Now a freshman at Mill Creek High School, Orgbon is the CEO of Greening Forward.

The organization is in the running for a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project, which seeks to reward people, businesses and nonprofits with ideas that will have a positive impact.

The top 10 ideas — as measured by the number of online votes received — will get the funding. And Orgbon’s organization needs a lot of votes to win. On Thursday, it was ranked as No. 209.

To vote for Orgbon in the competition, visit www.refresheverything.com/recyclingeducation.

To learn more about Greening Forward, visit www.greeningforward.org.