Carly O’Neill
Associate News Editor

Millersville University hosted a Lancaster Passes on Plastic: A Climate Change Workshop event on Saturday, March 2 in the Lombardo Welcome Center. The Lancaster Hub of Global Shapers teamed up with the Climate Speakers Network to educate students on reducing plastic use and addressing the problem of climate change.

The Global Shapers are made up of more than 7,000 members, and have nearly 400 city-based hubs in 171 countries. They are a group of young people under the age of thirty working towards “driving dialogue, action, and change.”

Global Shapers used this workshop as an opportunity to introduce their awareness campaign “Pass on Plastics.” The Lancaster Hub is using the entire month of March to educate individuals on how plastic is made, what actions can be taken to reduce plastic consumption, and ultimately move closer towards achieving climate sustainability.

During this workshop students learned more about the steps local, state, and federal government can take to become more sustainable. Recently, the city of Lancaster signed onto the Paris Agreement and is now working towards taking action against climate change.

Lancaster is also taking steps to become more sustainable through this agreement by improving their operations, facilities, and practices. According to Jamie Arroyo, the curator of the Lancaster Hub Global Shapers, the city plans to focus on environmentally friendly practices within their community after advancing these operations.

The Lancaster Hub of Global Shapers also launched a Global to Model campaign project in 2017. They collected donated mobile devices and started a technology training program for refugees of Lancaster City.

According to The Global Shapers website, “Lancaster, PA takes in twenty times more refugees per capita than the rest of the US.” Shapers set up used cell phone and tablet devices around local businesses and universities to gain some support and awareness towards their campaign.

With the help of volunteers and a local resettlement agency, CWS, the Shapers were able to establish a curriculum to aid refugees in accessing Wi-Fi and apps on their new devices.

The Global Shapers Global to Mobile campaign project has allowed Lancaster’s refugee community to stay in touch with their homeland, and connect with others who share similar ethnic backgrounds.

When asked over a phone interview what steps college students could take to reduce their carbon footprint, Jamie Arroyo advises in first engaging with the Global Shapers Facebook and Instagram.

Also, he urges students to take public transportation whenever possible, as well as substituting plastic bottles and silverware with reusable ones to reduce everyday plastic usage.


If interested in joining a local Hub of the Global Shapers, visit https://www.globalshapers.org to apply. Recruitments are currently going on this month.