Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Shaw
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 5/13/2020
Local Girl Collects Pop Tabs to Support Ronald McDonald House (Shaw - 2020)
Local Girl Collects Pop Tabs to Support Ronald McDonald House
Ali Shaw, a Neillsville third-grader, has been collecting pop tabs to recycle for money to be given to the Ronald McDonald House in Marshfield. People may drop off pop tabs at GRIT Nutrition in Neillsville or Main Focus Nutrition in Greenwood. Submitted photo
By Valorie Brecht
When it comes to making the world a better place, though no one can do everything, everyone can do something.
A Neillsville girl has exemplified this saying by finding a creative way to help others through recycling an everyday item. Ali Shaw, who is almost nine, has been collecting pop can tabs to recycle for money, which will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Marshfield. The Ronald McDonald House provides a place for families to live at little to no cost while their children ae receiving treatment in the hospital.
“I know a lot of people go there [to the Ronald McDonald House], and it looks like a place that needs more supplies,” said Ali. Parents need a place to sty to be close to their little ones. I think families should be closed.”
Shaw started collecting tabs around February of this year. She got the idea from a commercial she had seen many times. Along with immediate family, Shaw got her aunt, friends, and Sunday School group to all donate. She also put collection containers at Main Focus Nutrition in Greenwood and GRIT Nutrition in Neillsville.
“A lot of people in the community have donated,” said Shaw’s mom, Bobbie Jo. “It’s pretty cool how something so simple can add up so fast.”
Ali has already collected a large tub of pop can tabs. Her goal is to raise $500 in tabs, which is about 1,400-to-2,000 pounds of tabs, depending on the price of aluminum. She also would like to raise $300 in cash to go toward supplies needed for the house. She plans to put collection containers at more businesses once they open again. The Ronald McDonald House is currently closed, but once it re-opens, Ali will be able to make her first donation there.
“I’m very proud,” said Bobbie Jo. “Ali has always had the biggest heart and is always thinking of others before herself, so it’s not a surprise, but I’m very, very proud.”
