SISSONVILLE, W.Va. — One Kanawha County student is giving back to the community by collecting aluminum tabs from soda cans for a Ronald McDonald House Charity.
Micah Evans, a second grade student at Sissonville Elementary School, told MetroNews she saved 43 pounds of pop tabs that fill nearly two garbage bags.
“I just felt like I needed to make a difference,” Evans said.
The tabs collected go toward funds to help support families facing the serious illness of a child. Schools, churches, businesses, neighbors and families have been involved in the recycling program.
Rochelle Sizemore, a school counselor at Sissonville Elementary, said she’s proud a young student wants to help her community.
“It makes me feel like our students display character and are showing what kind of future citizens we’re going to have one of these days,” Sizemore said.
The idea came to Evans after talking with her father’s supervisor.
“I went to my dad’s work and I talked to one of his bosses. She was recycling, so she was the one who really inspired me to do it,” she said.
Evans even got her friends and classmates involved in the school.
“She and I brainstormed and we talked about the some different things we could do. Then I said well, if we’re going to recycle, especially out here in Sissonville it’s a little bit harder to do because the city doesn’t have those kind of services,” Sizemore said. “We only did it for maybe a month and we were just really surprised at how much we got back from the community.”
Evans dropped the tabs off to a local Ronald McDonald House. The tabs will then be shipped to a recycling center. Evans said she also wants to introduce the program at her church.
Pop tab donations help offset the cost of Ronald McDonald houses worldwide.
Every year, more than $10,000 is raised for the program.