Summer 2023 Branch Stories

1) Story from Suren Sanjay - University Heights Branch

Our branch has been consistently collecting batteries and other e-waste from various branch locations by setting up Amazon shipping boxes and reusable plastic containers. One of the summertime challenges I encountered was scheduling pickups when employees were on vacation. Coordination became a bit tricky, but with effective communication and flexible planning, we managed to work around these hiccups. Despite some hurdles, including scheduling pickups during employee vacations, my goal is to expand these efforts throughout various locations in Orange County.

2) Story from Dave Chiang - Cerritos Heights Branch

Over the summer we had left battery collection bins in places like senior homes and in several companies in the Cerritos industrial district. They were very happy and eager to help us collect batteries in order to help our environment. They told us that they appreciated what we were doing and told us to keep up the good work for the upcoming year.

3) Story from Timothy Bang - Yorba Linda High Branch

On June 4, 2023 we were able to recycle over 2,000+ batteries. We contacted our city center, the Yorba Linda City of Commerce, where over email and in person visits, we were able to establish a battery drive with them. Previously, they had always had bi-monthly e-waste drives, but they did not accept any batteries. We saw this as an opportunity to host a battery drive in partnership with the city hall center to allow people to recycle their batteries. With this, many people came, often with their own container stacked full to the brim with batteries. With joy on our faces, we were glad we could have this partnership with our community and to help many people recycle their batteries.

4) Story from Kevin Li - Bellarmine Branch

This summer was more successful than I could've imagined. We collected over 8,000 batteries! ServiceNow, this company we teamed up with earlier this year, gave us a massive boost by donating 4,000 batteries. They even set up more than 10 collection boxes all over their buildings. It's awesome to see that when their employees noticed how quickly we were picking up the batteries, they started bringing in even more.​

But that's not all. We also did some local community battery hunts. At the Mother's Day fair by Tzu Chi, we scored about 1,000 batteries. And a shoutout to SuperMicro, another partner company, for chipping in with another 1,800 batteries.

To top everything off, I hit 100 volunteer hours by the end of August! Overall, this summer's collection was plentiful, and I'm so thankful for everyone who helped out.