Keeping Tabs: How One Resident Engaged Her Peers’ Competitive Spirits for Good

PHA residents in Community Engagement Opportunities (CEO) set and work towards goals related to community, learning, wellness, and service. This fall, resident Abby H. set an ambitious service goal to help the Ronald McDonald House raise funds towards their mission. 

Ronald McDonald House (RMHC) is a charity that houses families whose children are ill and undergoing treatment away from home. Abby shares that their mission is “to keep families close to their child without the worries of financial strain. They have multiple programs, volunteers, and credibility in making a lasting impact on the community.” 

The RMHC collects pop tabs and turns them in for recycling. Pop tabs are made from high-quality concentrated aluminum, and the proceeds from the metal directly contribute to RMHC’s funding. Abby believed that spreading the word around the PHA community would encourage residents to “set aside their pop tabs and therefore change others’ lives.” 

Abby had the idea to turn her pop tab efforts into a building-wide competition, with each floor competing to collect the most pop tabs. Every floor that collected at least 400 pop tabs earned an ice cream party. Throughout fall semester, PHA staff sent out weekly updates with the current leading floors as the number steadily rose into the thousands!

By December 1st, residents collected 2,253 pop tabs to support RMHC’s families. Floors 1, 3, 6, and 7 earned an ice cream party! Abby reflects that this was “an outstanding event, and everyone at Pres House should feel great for the impact they are making on the community. I am very proud of the apartment and am so happy we made a difference!” Abby’s organization of this pop tab initiative shows what happens when residents engage their competitive, ambitious spirits to benefit the Madison community. Way to go, PHA!