Charity collects 1 billion pop tabs

While one small aluminum pop tab doesn’t look like much, a collection of 1 billion marks a great accomplishment for the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana.\nAfter 13 years, the Ronald McDonald House, located in Indianapolis, and its “Collect-A-Million” Club has raised more than $500,000 by recycling pop tabs donated from schools, corporations and individuals.\n“It’s an easy way to donate, considering how much pop Americans drink,” said freshman Jenni Kipfer.\nThe pop tab program began in 1985 with the goal of collecting 1 million pop tabs to keep the organization going so it could serve as a home-away-from-home for parents with children admitted into Indianapolis area hospitals, mostly Riley Hospital for Children.\n“At the time, people really wondered if this would be a successful program,” said community outreach manager Sara Risley, explaining her excitement that it did succeed. “It’s a symbol of what everyone can do, no matter economic status.”\nThough the tabs contain more pure aluminum than the rest of the can, it doesn’t necessarily bring in more money than the can itself. The Ronald McDonald House collects the tabs for convenience and cleanliness reasons. Cans are hard to wash, and dirty cans attract many bugs, especially ants. Risley said the house can receive up to 4 million tabs a week. If those tabs were cans, the organization would not have space to store them.\n“Collecting these tabs is like an epidemic because some people really get hooked on it,” Risley said. “And that’s what makes it so successful is that everyone can do it.”\nSophomore Allison Marshall remembers when her high school would participate in the “Collect-A-Million” Club and people would walk around at lunch from table to table collecting pop tabs.\n“It’s good to know the efforts have more than reached a goal,” Marshall said. “I think it’s a great way to have everyone contribute since people use pop tabs every day.”\nRisley said when she first began working for the House two years ago, she only received about 30 to 40 cents per pound for the tabs, but now she gets up to a dollar. The Indianapolis House raised more than $70,000 last year with pop tabs alone.\n“Right now aluminum is sky high, which is excellent.” Risley said. “The money just comes and helps us with our operation budget.”\nThe Ronald McDonald House in Indianapolis opened in 1982 with 24 rooms. The House has expanded to provide a home-away-from-home for more than 1,500 families with 52 guest rooms, two kitchens and two living quarters.\n“If the parents’ kids are really sick, they probably have to pay a lot in medical bills, so it’s nice they have somewhere to stay without having to pay much for it,” Kipfer said.\nThe House charges $10 a night for a family to stay, but Risley said not all of them pay that.\n“The money from the pop tabs helps us bridge the gap between what it costs and what the families actually pay,” Risley said. “We don’t turn away anyone based on their ability to pay.”\nRisley said it won’t take as long to collect another billion tabs because popularity is growing in schools and other organizations. More schools participate in the “Collect-A-Million” Club, which now has more than 300 members, because it helps teach kids math and the importance of recycling. \nThe Indianapolis House will host an event Aug. 8 at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis with a goal of collecting 8 million tabs in three hours, Risley said.\n“Our next goal is to see a million dollars,” Risley said. “It’s pretty spectacular what this little piece of aluminum can represent.”