Throughout the majority of the month of July, the Dental Assistant students of the Ross Medical Education Center campus in New Baltimore sponsored another way to contribute to Ronald McDonald House Charities. They decided to combine efforts with the rest of students as well as the staff and faculty by holding a Pop Can Tab Drive! Ronald McDonald House Charities accepts and recycles pop can tabs. Although they are small and don’t seem like a lot, the generous donations from Ross and other organizations provide a lot of tabs. These tabs, in turn, provide funding for families in need.
The vision statement of Ronald McDonald House Charities reads: “We believe when you change a child’s live, you change a family’s, which can change a community and, ultimately, the world.” Changing the world, one child and family at a time, is their goal. That’s why they strive to consistently provide resources as well as both financial and emotional support. They know that there is a lot of stress when a family is caring for a sick child. In order to alleviate some of that, they provide housing for many families near the hospital, travel expenses, and sometimes just coverage for basic medical procedures.
The New Baltimore Dental Assistant students demonstrated their communication skills when they gave mini presentations to the classes in the Medical Assistant, Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration, Pharmacy Technician, and Veterinary Assistant programs. The students worked as a team to create and decorate each classroom’s collection container. They were very excited and dedicated to keep the momentum of their drive rolling. In order to keep everyone fully engaged, they even made weekly visits to all classrooms giving out sweet treats for any donations of the day. The last week of the Pop Tab Drive, toothbrush prizes were given out with instructions to remember to brush and floss. The drive was a great success and worked to teach all students the importance of philanthropy, the merit of recycling, and most importantly the impact of extending kindness to families in need by raising funds to help improve the health and well-being of their children. By the end of the drive, the campus collected nearly 20 pounds of pop can tabs!