VALHALLA, N.Y. Theres sometimes only a small effort needed to fix a big issue and Armonk resident James Fallon is taking the initiative to do all that he can to help clean up the Hudson River.
Fallon, a fifth-grade student at Wampus Elementary School in Armonk, accepted donations over the past two years through the Riverkeeper, Inc. advocacy group in Ossining. For his efforts, Fallon was recently featured in Riverkeepers short movie Voices For The River.
Every time I watch that video, I get so emotionally moved, James mother Kathy Fallon said. Its such a great expression of all the work that hes done.
Fallon first got involved in the fundraising effort to help keep the Hudson clean by asking his friends and family to donate money on his online page to Riverkeeper in lieu of his 10th birthday. This month, he is participating in the same fundraiser for his 11th birthday. So far, Fallon raised more than $1,400 through his efforts and donated the most money out of any fundraiser to the organization.
I read this story how this girl donated shoes to places in Africa to children that really needed it and I thought that asking for donations instead of presents could be a good way to help, Fallon said. It wasnt my goal to raise the most money but I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.
Fallon became inspired to raise money and spread awareness about the river after speaking with Hudson Riverkeeper Paul Gallay for a school project two years ago. The two sparked a friendship and Fallon invited Gallay to give a lecture at Wampus last year. Gallay, an alumnus of Wampus Elementary School, accepted his invitation and spoke to the students and teachers about the importance of keeping the river clean and what simple efforts could be made to ensure this.
Fallon said he hopes to continue his efforts and work with Riverkeeper, Inc. in the future. His goal is to raise $3,000 to put toward cleaning efforts.
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