Putnam County youth have benefited from the yearly contributions that Frank Baird and his West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Inc. company donate – to everything from camp scholarships to lamb projects. www.wvcashin.com

"4-H is our No. 1 investment when it comes to the company’s charitable contributions," said Baird, who started his company in 1987. "It is important to make sure that kids have a moral upbringing and a moral background. I feel that 4-H programs help to provide and reaffirm the importance of honesty and morality in kids."

In summer 2008, for instance, Baird’s company paid for more than 100 Putnam County 4-H members to attend county 4-H camp. But this fall, Baird decided he wanted something more permanent that would create a lasting legacy for the county’s 4-H’ers.

Baird and business partner, Al Howard, have established two new endowments through the WVU Foundation. The West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Inc. Putnam County 4-H Fund will provide discretionary funds for the Putnam County 4-H program. Funds may be used for scholarships to state and county 4-H camps, volunteer and 4-H youth travel to state and national events, and general 4-H expenses.

West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Inc. Putnam County Scholarship will provide an undergraduate academic scholarship for a Putnam County youth to attend West Virginia University. A student who receives the scholarship one year is eligible for consideration in any other year. The scholarship will be selected by WVU Extension, and information about the scholarship will be provided by county agents.

Baird was a 4-H'er in Raleigh County from elementary school through high school. He attended club meetings after school, then caught the bus for home.

"4-H is a good program. You learned how to make things, how to do things," said Baird. "There were good people involved in leading the program; many of the teachers and even the principal were involved in the 4-H program."

Baird has cultivated a love for 4-H among his employees, who contribute to the company's community support programs.

"While it is the company that has established these endowments, our employees are all just as committed to investing in the local community and in our state to make it a better place," stated Baird. "It is important to see that our kids are educated."

Baird has been in the recycling business in West Virginia for more than 40 years. He founded West Virginia Cashin Recyclables in Putnam County in 1987. The commercial recycling company, one of the largest recycling companies in West Virginia, employs more than 40 at its Nitro location. In 2002, his company received the Alcoa Quality Processor and Recycler of the Year Award. The award is presented annually by Alcoa Recycling Company and is bestowed on less than 1 percent of the more than 2,000 commercial recyclers in the nation.

The company has worked with young people in the community to educate them on the importance of recycling. Baird's company donated proceeds of a Putnam County 4-H newspaper recycling program to the construction of a new 4-H camp in Putnam County.

WV Cashin recycles ferrous and nonferrous metals, along with paper and plastics. Much of the recycled scrap metal is sold to overseas markets that use the materials to make consumer products that are shipped back to the United States. The company is a member of the Institute of Scrap Recyclers (ISRI).

The WVU Extension Service operates the 4-H program through local offices in every county of the state. Through clubs, special interest groups, camps, after-school programs, and individual projects, 4-H reaches more than 77,000, or one out of every four, young people statewide. They are supported by more than 7,200 adult volunteers who serve as mentors.

West Virginia Cashin Recyclables' gifts were made through the WVU Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation that generates and provides support for West Virginia University.