The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes for The Quill
When Angie Rankin underwent stem cell transplants 4 years ago at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City, the local Ronald McDonald House made it possible for her parents to stay locally and within an hour of where medical treatment was being given.
"The Ronald McDonald House was a lifesaver for us," said Mike Rankin, Angie's dad.
The Ronald McDonald House program offers overnight accommodations for the families of minor children undergoing demanding medical treatment in order to prevent lengthy travel time to and from the hospital or medical center.
Rates are nominal and no one is ever turned away based on inability to pay.
But someone always pays, and one avenue of donations is the collection of pop can tabs. Mike and Nancy Rankin contacted Southern elementary principal Dale Buss at the start of the current school year and made arrangements for the collection of pop can tabs by pre-school through 4th grade students.
Teacher Julie Hicks recommended collecting the aluminum tabs in large drinking water bottles, and the Clear Falls bottled water distributor in Burlington donated several large plastic bottles no longer suitable for holding water but perfect for the collection of can tabs.
The bottles, collected late last month, weighed in at 256 lbs. and filled more than half the bed of a one-half ton pick-up truck.
What might seem at first like a small contribution can end up with a significant impact, Mike Rankin said.
The Ronald McDonald House program can now offer overnight accommodations to other parents and families of ill children who might otherwise have had no way of staying close to their children during their medical treatment.
Mike Rankin said he got the idea of collecting the pop can tabs from former Union Elementary Principal Tony Ryan, who implemented a similar program at Union Elementary School in appreciation for what the Ronald McDonald House at Iowa City did for his family during his daughter's illness.
"I just followed suit," Mike Rankin said.
The Ronald McDonald House receives over $10,000 annually from donated pull tabs.
For more information on services available through the Ronald McDonald House program, log on to ronaldmcdonaldhouse.com.
Mike Rankin, right, thanks Southern Elementary Principal Dale Buss for allowing students to collect pull-tabs off pop cans to help benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa City.