Cowden-Herrick Junior High math teacher Kelsey Mayfield held a competition for her students to see who could collect the most soda tabs. This is her 13th year of having the competition.
A total of 19 gallon-size bags of tabs were collected in all. The sixth grade class won the competition and a pizza party.
The tabs are donated to the Ronald McDonald House in St Louis. Kelsey donates them there because she had three nephews who spent time in the NICU at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. They have a Ronald McDonald Family room in the hospital, where the parents are allowed to go while spending time at the hospital. They are allowed to do laundry, make meals, watch TV, or relax during their stressful time of need. The Ronald McDonald Family Room is a part of the Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis.
The Ronald McDonald House is for families who have children undergoing medical procedures, testing or treatment for a serious illness. This is a place that is a home away from home. The requirement for a family to stay at the house is to live outside a 50-mile radius from the hospital.