RUSSELL COUNTY, Ky. — Whitney Lewis, who likes to go by “the trash lady," has made it her mission to make Kentucky the cleanest state in America. It has been almost a year since she began documenting her journey to pick up trash across the state.
Lewis said her late father taught her to appreciate nature, which has rubbed off on her daughter. Kendall Lewis, 15, has also joined the “Cleaner Kentucky” movement and took part in a group cleanup Sunday at Cumberland Lake.
“She inspires me to do so much,” Kendall said of her mother. “She inspires me to come out; she’s inspired me to clean up because there’s just so much that ... you see stuff on the side of the road, and you’re like, ‘Whatever,’ but it’s a big deal."
"She’s bringing that out there, and she makes me proud every single day. (She) works her butt off all the time but still manages to be the best mom that she (can) be.”
Thanks to Lewis and the community she has built, more than 17,000 bags of trash have been cleaned up throughout the state.
Several group cleanups happened over the weekend in different areas to help Lewis hit her goal of 25,000 bags by March 23, the anniversary of when she started the initiative.
Lewis said she's confident she will reach her goal.
“I’m just full of gratitude, full of gratitude,” Lewis said. “It just keeps growing and growing."
"I mean, does it get any better than that? I don’t think so. It’s amazing.”
Lewis is currently auditioning for NBC's game show “The Wall." If she makes it, she could win up to $13.6 million that will go toward the “Cleaner Kentucky” movement.
There are three more group cleanups scheduled in March. Lewis posts information about those events on her Facebook page, “Sun KYst sticks and stones”.