Students from Pinon Elementary School in White Rock with pop can tabs they collected to support Ronald McDonald House. Courtesy photo

PINON NEWS

For the second year in a row, the Piñon Elementary School Student Council has collected pop can tabs to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in Albuquerque. Student Council challenged every class to collect as many tabs as possible over a six-month period.

This year’s winner is Kristen Martines’ third grade class. They collected the equivalent of 20 gallon- sized buckets of tabs. Second place went to Fran Flesner’s first grade class; Taryn Stetter’s second grade class received third place. The winning class will be treated to a homemade cookie ice cream sandwich party. One student in Mrs. Martines’ class put collection bins at all of the county’s senior facilities, and activity centers. As a result of his extra efforts, he single- handedly, doubled the amount of pop tabs collected by the rest of the classes at the school.

According to their website, there are currently 368 Ronald McDonald houses in 64 countries and regions. The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) has been providing a place for families to stay near their hospitalized children since 1974. In 2017, RMHC provided assistance to millions of families. It relies on the generosity of donations to enable families to stay in its facilities at little or no cost,

Student Council advisors Amanda Ferran and Stephanie Rittner are proud of the efforts of all Piñon students. “Their participation in this project benefits many children and families who are dealing with illnesses beyond their control,” the teachers noted. “Way to go, Panthers!”

For information on this charity, please check this link: http://www.rmhc-nm.org/

In addition to the pop can tab collection fundraiser, the Student Council has also been collecting canned goods for the local Food Depot.