Cassandra Lin is changing the world one french fry at a time.

Four years ago, at the age of 10, she decided she wanted to do something for the environment and help the less fortunate in her Rhode Island community. She gathered her friends and created Project TGIF -- Turning Grease Into Fuel. The organization collects used cooking oil from restaurants and homes, refines it and then distributes a percentage of it to families who can't afford to heat their homes.

So far, Cassandra and her team have collected 130,000 gallons of used cooking oil and donated $81,000 for the purchase of biofuel. This has amounted to 21,000 gallons of BioHeat distributed to 210 homes. These efforts have also offset 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the environment.

Last year, the group helped draft legislation that makes it mandatory for all businesses in Rhode Island to recycle their used cooking oil. The bill went into effect January 1.
"I was trying to talk about biodiesel and just could not get anywhere with it," said Caswell Cooke, a town councilor in Westerly, Rhode Island. "And (Cassandra) came along and did it, to get restaurants to recycle their grease. ... The fact that it was coming from kids made it hit home a lot harder. 'The child shall lead them' sort of thing."

Cassandra's next goal is for the program to be implemented throughout New England.