CORNWALL, Ontario –Emily Besner, 14, is donating her collection of pop can tabs to charity one last time.
On Monday, Nov. 19, Besner brought an estimated one million tabs to Gerdau Metals Recycling. For almost 750 lbs of tabs, Besner earned $374. Ross Cotton, General Manager, intended to match the amount earned but instead donated $500, bringing Besner’s grand total to $874.
Besner will be donating her earnings to Shriners Hospital for Children, located in Montreal.
“It’s great to see people in the community willing to help one another,” said Cotton. “It’s great to see someone so young step up and do whatever she can do to help those in need; it’s fabulous.”
Ray Mondeux, employee at Gerdau, agreed that the Besner’s actions are admirable and commended the SDG Cornwall Shrine Club on their fundraising program. Mondeux also acknowledged the environmental benefits of the donation.
Over the past 10 years, Besner has collected pop can tabs for various initiatives. Most notably, Besner recalls raising $100 from tabs for a classmate who was diagnosed with Leukemia. She then challenged members of the community to match her donation. Besner believes that she raised a total of $1,200 and donated it to the family to assist with hospital and travel expenses.
At a young age, Besner wanted to help the community in some way, so her mom assisted her with the pop can tab collection process.
“I decided it’s something fun and easy to do that everyone can help out with. So, everyone has a small part in saying ‘we were a part of this, we helped some kids,’” explained Besner.
Besner didn’t quite drink one million cans of soda for her donation. Through word of mouth and actively reaching out to different organizations, she was able to collect and harbor nearly one million tabs.
“This lady has went to a great deal of effort to collect these tabs…” said James Moak, President of SDG Cornwall Shrine Club. “It’s to help offset the cost of running the hospital.”
Members of SDG Cornwall Shrine Club were on site assisting with the tab weigh-in process and presented Besner with a plaque of recognition. Before choosing to support the Shiners Hospital, Besner researched different organizations. Rory MacLennan provided her with details about the fundraiser towards the hospital.
Although Besner’s days of collecting tabs are behind her, she looks forward to new chartiable ventures in her future.
People can continue donating pop can tabs to Summerheights Golf Links towards the Shriners Hospital.
