Ronald McDonald House on the IUPUI campus provides support to families of children who are undergoing medical procedures at the Riley Hospital for Children. Through its pop tab recycling program, the facility has raised more than $200,000.

When the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana, located on the IUPUI campus, sponsored a pop tab drop on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis July 29, staff and volunteers had set a goal of bringing in five million pop tabs to be recycled and sold for cash, proceeds going toward the operation of the facility which provides accommodations and outreach to families of children being treated at nearby Riley Hospital for Children.

The outpouring of pop tabs was phenomenal. Eight million were collected during the four-hour "Show Us Your Tabs" event. And the house's "wonderful partners," said Anita Beeler, development assistant and special projects coordinator, went out of their way to make the event a success. Cinergy Corporation trucked in the boxes and skids to hold the gallon containers of pop tabs, and Versatile Processing weighed and processed the aluminum tab donations.

The house has been using the collection program as a fund-raiser for a decade now. Those wishing to help out by collecting tabs may drop their tabs off directly at the Ronald McDonald House on Limestone Street or at the Ronald McDonald House facility in Riley Hospital seven days a week. For those outside the Indianapolis area, pop tabs may be dropped off at participating McDonald's restaurants or at recycling partners around the state. For a list of partners, visit the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana Web site:

http://www.rmh-indiana.org

Editor's note: The Ronald McDonald House of Indiana is looking for volunteers to help man an information table at the Home-A-Rama, located at Lochaven in the Fishers/Noblesville area, Aug. 20-Sept. 5. Volunteers will be handing out information on the Ronald McDonald House. This year, the Builders Association of Greater Indiana and Home-A-Rama have built a playhouse that will be awarded to a lucky ticket owner at the end of the event. Volunteers may sign up online at the Ronald McDonald House Web site above. Hours of operation: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. and Friday, Saturday and Sunday, noon-9 p.m. Questions may be directed to Anita Beeler at 317-269-2247. For more info on Home-A-Rama:

http://www.bagi.com/

Fast facts:
· 1,000 tabs equals one pound
· 1,000 pounds equals one million pop tabs
· Who invented the pop tab? Ermal Fraze, in 1962.

Photo by Chris Meyer

Ronald McDonald House on the IUPUI campus