Islip student Madelyn Marinelli is proving that a big heart, determination to succeed and the kindness of others is what matters when it comes to being charitable.  

Since January, the Commack Road Elementary School fifth-grader has been participating in the Entenmann’s Little Bites Brigade and gathering support from CRES, Maud S. Sherwood Elementary School and Islip Middle School.

“My goal is to turn trash into cash by collecting as many empty Entenmann’s Little Bites pouches as we can and shipping them to TerraCycle to raise points,” said Madelyn. According to its website, TerraCycle is a highly awarded, international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products.

For each pouch that is recycled, Madelyn receives points, which are then turned into cash. The cash raised is donated to one of two charities designated by Madelyn – Feed America and Charity Water. “If we all help, we can provide so many people in America and around the world with food and clean drinking water,” said Madelyn.

In only six weeks, Islip participants have collected 1,053 Little Bites pouches. The pouches have translated into providing 149 people with clean water for one week and 36 meals to Americans facing hunger. The program will run until June.