Pop-Tab Collection Program
2012/2013 is the 11th year of our pop-tab program. Our goal last year was 10 Years – 10 Tons! That's approximately 24,000,000 pop-tabs - and we made it! We aim to continue collecting Tons of Tabs to support families with children in the hospital.
For our Tons of Tabs campaign, we have a new item: pop-tab stickers for zip-lock bags. Print this out onto sheets of labels (Avery 8253 or similar) and place the labels onto gallon zip-lock bags. We’ll need lots of new friends to help us reach this goal. Here’s how you can get involved.
Love Pops Out All Over!
At Ronald McDonald House, love comes in all shapes and sizes. Love is made out of chocolate, flowers, pop-tabs, diamond rings. Wait a minute! Pop-tabs? Those flimsy aluminum rings on beverage and food cans? How on earth do pop-tabs support Ronald McDonald House? What can you do with pop-tabs? Collect them and turn trash into cash!
Why Pop-Tabs?
Pop-tabs remind us of an important lesson: even little things make a big difference. Pop-tabs helps us pay the bills so moms and dads need not worry about where they will stay while their children are in the hospital.
Wabash Iron & Metal, our local recycler, buys the tabs at market rate, and makes an additional charitable contribution. Wabash generously donates their pick-up and handling services, so the income from pop-tabs is pure profit.
Collecting pop-tabs is a popular volunteer opportunity that benefits RMHC-KC families and is easy to organize. When you pull for The House That Love Built, you
- expand public awareness
- make new friends
- raise money
- protect the environment
Looking for a community service project? Pop-tabs are a fun way for individuals, schools and organizations to get involved with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City.
How Can You Help?
Start a pop-tab program and count to a million! Ask your friends at school, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, youth groups, sports teams, neighbors and co-workers to help save tons of tabs. From first-graders to grandparents, anyone can get in on the action.
Collect pop-tabs in zip-lock bags, cardboard boxes, coffee cans or plastic trash bags – anything easy to empty. Please do not use plastic soda bottles or milk jugs because they’re hard to empty!
Next Steps
We invite schools, community groups and service clubs to visit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City. We welcome opportunities to make school and public presentations. Here are some suggestions for starting a pop-tab program:
- Arrange an RMHC-KC tour
- Host an RMHC-KC speaker
- Sponsor your children and school
- Ask your PTA to promote pop-tabs
- Seek business partners to support RMHC-KC
10 Tons of thanks for everyone who collects pop-tabs.
Pop-Tab Brochure
Pop-Tab Collecting Information Sheet
Jacob's Story
Sycamore Hills Elementary School of Independence, MO pulls pop-tabs for the House that Love Built®. View the video of Jacob's Story about why he pulls tabs.
Fun Facts
Pop Tab Measurement Equivalents
1 inch = 1 pop tab
1 foot = 12 pop tabs
1 pound = 1,267 pop tabs
1 mile = 63,360 pop tabs
Donating Your Pop-Tabs
If you're in Missouri or Kansas and need more information to get started, please contact our pop-tab coordinator, Alan Lubert, at alubert@rmhckc.org or (816) 842-8321 x118.
For other states, please check the international website (www.rmhc.org) to find the Ronald McDonald House nearest you. The site lists all the Houses in the world. Most of the U.S. Houses participate in the pop-tab program. In case you can't locate a House that collect pop-tabs, you might find a local recycle company that will buy your tabs. We will be delighted to receive your donation.
If you are coming to Kansas City, please let us know and we can arrange to meet you and show you our pop-tab shed that holds about two tons. It's a great photo-op to dump your tabs into the shed! We'll also give you a House tour so you can see first-hand about our services for families.