Quarry Hill Residents Flip Their Lids for Charity

Quarry Hill Residents Flip Their Lids for Charity
Editor: David Mills

Residents David Libby and Carol Wardell, with staff member Lisa Payson (center), show off 3,500 of the 7,000-plus can tabs that they and other residents have collected on behalf of the Ronald McDonald House in Portland.

CAMDEN, ME - April 5th, 2012 - When it comes to helping kids and families get through difficult times, the attitude at Quarry Hill is enthusiastically can-do.

Inspired by Quarry Hill transportation director Lisa Payson, residents of the Camden community’s assisted-living center have donated more than 7,000 pull-off tabs from soda cans to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Portland. Key Bank in Rockland collects the tabs and sends them to Maine Metal Recycling in Auburn to be weighed; a donation is then sent to the Ronald McDonald House, based on the weight of the collection and the current value of aluminum.

 Residents David Libby and Carol Wardell, in particular, are tops in pop-tops, said Payson, who introduced the tab drive to residents and staff at Quarry Hill last year.

 “Soon I had several folks turning in a tab or two, but David and Carol’s collection efforts were amazing,” Payson said. “Almost daily Carol brings me a handful. David uses a cup to store his tabs, and about once a week ventures into the Activities Department with a smile on his face and a cup chock-full of tabs.

 “When I bring our jam-packed bags of tabs to the bank, the girls there burst into smiles,” she commented. “They can’t believe how many we have collected—and how grateful the families at the Ronald McDonald House will be for our efforts.”