As a service to our larger community we support the activities of Ronald Mac Donald House in Long Branch New Jersey. The idea behind Ronald McDonald House is simple: provide a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House provides a comfortable, supportive alternative for these families. It serves as a temporary residence near the medical facility where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations.

We are not asking for your hard earned money, surely we ask for that plenty of times during the year, but we are asking for a few moments of your time. You know all those drinks in aluminum cans you go through each month, every recycle day I am reminded of that fact! Well there is gold in the recycle bin! On top of every can is a pull tap invented by Mr. Ermal Fraze in Kettering, Ohio in 1962. Pop tab rings have significant value in the recycling industry, representing the purest form of a desirable metal for recycler's. The aluminum that is donated to the Long Branch Ronald McDonald House is taken to a local recycling station where it is weighed and cashed in by the pound. The money netted is used to assist the House with operational expenses such as household supplies and utilities. All the collections do add up to make a heartfelt impact in working together to provide shelter and comfort to families during the medical treatment of their children.

What we ask is simple, place a cup by your recycle bin, and every time you before place your cans in the bin, rip off the pop top and place it in the cup. As the cup fills and you will be surprised how quickly this happens, place the collection in a container that is transportable. Peanut butter jars work well when they are cleaned out and that's one less item to take to the bin each time. When your container is full, bring it to your pack, troop, team or crew meeting and hand it to your leader. They will bring it to our monthly district roundtable for further transportation.

From the district it is then repackaged (consolidated) and brought to a local ambulance corp (Allendale Ambulance Corp supports the program) then to the State Association of First Aid Squads. Through the State Association of First Aid Squads and Verison Pioneers for RMH's "Collect a Million" project they will be redeemed through a local recycler.

If all the above is too complicated, residents may drop off can tabs at their local first aid squads (Please check for participation first). The can tabs will then be collected by the Telephone Pioneers who will deliver them to a local recycler.

Won't you lend a hand to this effort, it only takes a few moments of your time and it provides a valuable service to children and families in need.

First Class Scout Craig O from Troop 50 Mahwah went the extra mile and performed a yeoman’s task to assist young people with serious illnesses by taking a personal challenge to raise a significant number of pop-tabs in support of Ronald Mac Donald House. Craig arrived at the March 2008 Iaoapogh Mountains Roundtable with three boxes of Pop-Tabs, This was around thirty pounds of Pop-Tabs. Craig reviewed this page, personally recognized this as worthy cause and took on the task to have a positive impact in the lives of children and families in crisis. This was an unsolicited project and Craig took ownership to accomplish without supervision. Craig organized the collection with troop members, family and community organizations to accomplish this project. Just a great job Craig and an example to follow.

From our perspective this was a very significant and unexpected occurrence. Sometimes you wonder if we are reaching our youth members with the concepts of leadership and community service. Then they surprise you with their creativity and commitment! Thank you Mom and Dad for providing your support and helping Craig handle the transportation, I know you are proud of him and rightfully so!

The staff, families and children at Ronald Mc Donald House thank you for all your efforts. Way to go , keep up the good work!

• The Ronald McDonald House Pop Tab Collection Program was established in 1987 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Ronald McDonald House community.
• To date, over 400 million pop tabs have been collected, generating over $300,000.