DEDICATED TO A CAUSE— Simi Valley resident Russell Lee started the Hero Appreciation Network about five years ago. The Hero Appreciation Network is a nonprofit that gives scholarships in the name of fallen heroes. Lee plans to place boxes around the city where people can drop off ink cartridges that will be recycled to help raise money for the scholarships. To Simi resident Russell Lee, an ink cartridge is a symbol of hope. That's because Lee has found a way to turn old, expended cartridges into scholarships for collegebound high school students.

His way begins with the Hero Appreciation Network (HAN), a nonprofit Lee founded five years ago with the purpose of honoring the men and women who've given their lives serving in the military, law enforcement and firefighting ranks.

Recognizing the influence of gangs and street violence on youth, Lee, 75, expanded the organization's mission two years ago to include awarding academic and vocational trade school scholarships to worthy, at-risk students. His goal is to give kids "a way out" through higher education and to show them they can have a better life without resorting to gangs or crime.

To raise the money for the scholarship fund, HAN collects and recycles cartridges donated from businesses, government agencies, schools and individuals.

According to Lee, fewer than 10 percent of ink cartridges are recycled each year and 700 million are dumped into landfills annually.

"That is really terrible, and the funds that come out of that, you're talking about billions of dollars that could be acquired from, without asking the government or people for one cent," he said.

"We can do something of value for the community's youth, for their education, give them a real hope," he added.

For every cartridge that is recycled or remanufactured, HAN can receive up to $2. While the recycling helps send youth off to college, it also saves local landfills from tons of hazardous waste material.

Lee has always had a heart to help. Born in West Virginia and raised in New York City, his focus in his younger years was music. He studied at music conservatories in Colorado Springs and Los Angeles and played drums with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra before getting into the pop music scene.

In his garage, Lee has pictures and autographs from the days when he used to play with show business's best, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and Tom Jones. But he remembers more than the rocking good times he had on tour.

"By being a musician, you tend to see and go into a lot of places," he said. "I traveled all over the world and by doing that I saw how poor people were and people eating out of garbage cans while we were in the best hotels."

In an effort to combat domestic hunger, Lee formed and ran the Ecumenical Coalition of Concerned Citizens from 1978 to 1985.

While his organization and mission is now different, one thing is the same: When Lee sees a need, he responds.

Lee said he came up with the idea to recycle ink cartridges while brainstorming a way to raise money without having to ask people for cash donations or compete with other nonprofits for government grants.

Because of his partnership with local agencies, businesses and a recycler, 100 percent of the funds derived from recycling go to providing scholarships. To date, HAN has collected enough recycling material and donations to provide $100,000 in scholarships.

HAN works with Rotary clubs to solicit applications and select award winners. Each scholarship is worth $5,000 and can be used at any college or vocational school.

Though people have suggested that Lee reduce the award amount to help more kids, he didn't want to spread the funds too thin.

"I felt that $5,000 really helps a younger person," he said. "We really want to make an impact."

Connecting back to the original mission, each scholarship is given in the name of a fallen hero in the hope that the recipient will conduct their life as a living memorial.

Thus far, HAN has had the most success in Los Angeles County, with partners such as the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, the sheriff's department and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. Lee also counts Southern California Edison, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Bank of America and Century 21 as sponsors.

"When you have the support of people like that, people tend to participate quickly because they know it's going to the right places," he said.

Now, Lee is hoping to boost the organization's presence in Simi Valley, which recently became a partner.

He's been working on getting drop-off boxes in city offices but is looking for other dropoff locations in the community, including supermarkets, banks, gas stations, theaters and churches.

Residents and businesses that would like to donate inkjet or toner cartridges or become a dropoff location can e-mail Lee at heroappreciation@hotmail.com. Donations are tax-deductible.

For information, visit www .heroappreciationnetwork.org.