Second graders collect aluminum

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers POP TOPS-Chaparral Elementary School second-grade teacher Margie Clebanoff and her class display the 56 pounds of aluminum soda can tabs they collected to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House in Pasadena. Students at Chaparral Elementary in Calabasas collected 56 pounds of "pop tabs" for the Ronald McDonald House in Pasadena in their "Pull for the House" program.

The tabs are the easily recyclable aluminum openers on soda cans. The tabs are redeemable for cash.

Margie Clebanoff, a second grade teacher at the school, said her class started collecting the tabs in January as part of a community service project. It became so successful that the school adopted the cause and got all grade levels involved.

Clebanoff said that the students' 56 pounds of pop tabs, collected over six months, equates to 71,680 tabs.

The Ronald McDonald House provides a community supported "home away from home" for families with critically ill children who need medical treatment.

A family can stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Pasa

dena for just $15 a night, Clebanoff said. The facilities include beds, kitchens and laundry facilities for families who must be near children who are receiving treatment at local hospitals.

For further information on how to support Ronald McDonald House, call (626) 585-1588.