Not long ago, a driver for H20 Waste Disposal Service, a waste management company that offers weekly and bi-weekly trash pick-up for residents who don’t want to be bothered with the weekly trip to the town dump, was gifted a piece of artwork drawn by a young child, thanking that employee for their work. H20’s George Hoyt, who does marketing for the firm, spoke to his boss, H20 owner Martin O’Brien about how the company could build from that.

“About a month or so ago, when one of the drivers received the drawing, I talked to my boss about it” he said. “He, in turn, spoke to his family about it. They came up with an idea of something for kids to do while everyone is dealing with the pandemic.”

The result was for H20 to sponsor an art contest, where New Hampshire kids could vie for cash prizes by submitting their hand-crafted student art. Hoyt began publicizing then event through different channels and platforms.

“We put it on our Facebook page and are doing an email blast,” he said. “I also reached out to the Milford school district and may contact others. So far, we’ve received ten submissions.”

The prizes are $200 for first place, $150 for second place and $75 for the runner-up.

“They can be artwork of any kind about the environment, recycling, or anything of that sort and it’s open to any kindergarten through grade 12 students,” Hoyt explained. “I’ll be judging the contest along with someone else.”