When 7^th grade language arts students Erinn Langley and Ashlyn Nebeker signed up for their charity project  in January, they had no idea what kind of “can of worms” they were getting themselves into.  Actually, it was the “pop top” on the can of worms that caused them the most grief.

Langley and Nebeker were completing a project for a novel they were reading in class.  Part of the project requirements were to “give back to the community” by raising awareness of a local charity.  The two girls decided to take the idea one step further and raise money for the Ronald McDonald House by collecting and recycling pop tops from aluminum cans.  So far, they have been collecting, counting, and weighing aluminum pop tops since the end of January.  Their overwhelming success is partially due to their own mistake. 

“Don’t ever offer root beer and ice cream as prizes to elementary kids,” Nebeker grinned.  “They’ll go crazy!”  The girls decided that offering a prize to the class that collected the most pop tops was a good idea.  They’ve been making root beer floats ever since.  For each grade level 1^st through 5^th, one classroom won the root beer float contest.

Mr. Kent Dunn’s 5^th grade classroom root beer float winners.

“I don’t care if I never see another aluminum pop top again,” said Langley, as they bagged and weighed pop tops during their break between classes.  Langley and her family have personal connections to the Ronald McDonald House.  Several years ago, her older brother was hospitalized for an extended time and they the Ronald McDonald House was there for them.    Langley said, “I just wanted to give back.”

Erinn Langley and Ashlynn Nebeker show off just a fraction of their pop tops.