Lioness Club collecting pull-tabs for a good cause

Canyon Lake residents are invited to collect pull-tabs for a fundraising project to benefit Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House. Aluminum pull-tabs can be popped off of soda, beer, soup and other food cans.

Each year the Canyon Lake Lioness Club members welcome donations of pull-tabs and combine them with their own collection to take to Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House. In 2014, the club donated 49,391 tabs, which equates to 57 pounds. In 2015, the club collected 247,422 tabs, which equates to 158 pounds. The club is hoping to break that record this year.

Many clubs, businesses and organizations throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties deliver the pull-tabs they have collected. The tabs are then weighed and sold with the proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House. It takes 1,276 pull-tabs to make one pound.

The Lioness Club plans to deliver its collection on Friday, May 5th. Anyone wishing to donate pull-tabs may give them to any member of the Lioness Club or deliver them to Joanna Spiller at 23651 Cruise Circle Drive any time before May 3rd.

The Ronald McDonald House program began in 1974 based on a simple idea: Provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Since that time more than 10 million families around the world have benefited from the comfort provided by a Ronald McDonald House. The Pull-Tab Collection Program was established in 1987 by the Minneapolis/St.Paul Ronald McDonald House community. To date, across the country, more than 400 million pull tabs have been collected, generating more than $4 million.

Many Ronald McDonald Houses work with local recycling centers to receive money for collecting tabs from aluminum cans. The Loma Linda House supports more than 24 families each night.

A fee of $5 per night is charged; however, no family is ever turned away due to inability to pay.

Funds to operate the House come from contributions through individual gifts, special events, corporate donations and foundation grants.