Round three: Tiffany Creek Elementary donates third million to Ronald McDonald House
By Laura Giammattei
BOYCEVILLE —It has been 25 years since Tiffany Creek Elementary School began the journey of collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.
This past Friday, May 20, students and staff presented the Ronald McDonald House, a no-cost facility that houses families of children who are sick or undergoing treatment at a medical facility, with its third donation of one million pop tabs.
It took four years for the school to produce its first one million tabs, which resulted in 926 pounds of aluminum and a $625.45 donation.
In 2008, the second donation of one million tabs resulted in 1,170 pounds of aluminum and raised a total of $877.50.
This time around, they saved around 1,000 pounds of aluminum(or six 50-gallon drums) and donated close to $500, bringing the total amount of $2,000 to the house Ronald built.
During the celebration, Ronald McDonald made an appearance and shared his reading show, “It’s Book Time”, which focused on the importance of reading, book care and library etiquette.
Afterwards, the sixth grade class broke off into six groups to participate in a relay race to fill the six 50-gallon drums with the pop tabs that had been collected.
In addition, two special guest appearances were made by Boyceville District alumni, Chase Hedlund and Jeremy Middlestadt, who were part of the first class to participate in the program back in 1991. They shared memories of the program and discussed how important it is to give back to the community and how small things can add up to big help for others.
That help was provided for a family right in the Boyceville community whose child fell in gym class and broke his arm. When his family brought him to the hospital, they discovered that he had cancer and the family ended up staying at the Ronald McDonald House.
“Had it not been for our celebrations here at the school, the family would not have known about the Ronald McDonald House,” said Elementary Instructor, Debra Bell. “I hope no other Boyceville families go through such an experience, but know that if you need the assistance, the house is there to support you and your family.”
