JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — At the Kentucky River in Nicholasville, Whitney Lewis is doing what she knows best — but this time, with a major milestone in the bag.
"We just hit our million bag goal. So currently working on 2 million. That's my next step so that's why I'm here," Whitney Lewis, the founder of "A Cleaner Kentucky," said.
Lewis says it's taken two-and-a-half years to reach that first million bags of litter — and she's determined to double it in half the time.
"I want Kentucky to be the cleanest state in the country so you know, we're working on it and we're making huge strides," she said.
Her mission started small with one person and one grocery bag.
"I decided to do an earth day challenge in March of 2023 of picking up 500 grocery bags in a month's time and I surpassed that goal and I did 750. And I woke up April 23 and I was like, I gotta keep going," Lewis said.
The kinds of things Lewis picks up might surprise you. Monday morning, she pulled a chair from the Kentucky River.
She's cleaned in more than half of Kentucky's counties and hopes her work continues to inspire others.
"I've got two girls. I'm a single mom. So if we have doctors appointments, and lots of stuff going on, I'm just cleaning up in the way to the doctors appointment, you know," Lewis said.
And if done with love, she says one small act can ripple across the world.
"I get mail from as far as Washington state, California, Utah, which is a dream come true really. You know, I never would have thought in a million years picking up a grocery bag of trash would lead to what it is but definitely my souls purpose," Lewis said.
