Students and Staff in the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District are collecting pop tabs to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Durham and Wake. The Pull Together! campaign supports the families of seriously ill and injured children who require frequent treatment or in-hospital stays by offering residential and hospital-based programs.
At the House, families have private bedrooms, a well-stocked kitchen, dinners provided by community organizations, laundry facilities, and play areas, of course. Bingo nights, movie nights, holiday events, and other entertainment provided eases the burden of being away from home.
The pop tabs are sold by weight to offset the $100 per night cost of family stays, which are free for those who cannot afford to pay. The House makes about $10,000 a year from pop tabs recycling.
Pull Together! includes all types of pop tabs: drink tabs, soup tabs, mushroom can tabs, potted meat tabs, pet food tabs, and so on. And they are found in parking lots everywhere, for those who want to help clean up the planet.
Manning Elementary has been collecting pop tabs for decades in honor and memory of Bryan Moore, one of their own, who stayed in the Ronald McDonald House in Durham and started collecting tabs as a preschooler. The campaign will last all year with collection centers at each school district site.