Put aluminum toward Oswego girls’s trip
E-mail and Facebook have become the new backyard fence. We keep in touch with friends we don't have time to see on a weekly basis. Birthday greetings are electronic, but at least someone knows you are thinking of them. Grandchildren of my girlfriends pop into my e-mails to brighten my days. There are e-mails and Facebook bits of information that I would not have a clue about if not for the social networks they have become.
One such e-mail came in this week from a friend of mine in Oswego. She was making a simple request to help granddaughters of her friend. Kaysea and Kelsea Baker, eighth-graders at Thompson Middle School, have the opportunity to participate in an educational program over Spring Break 2010 with a trip sponsored by Oswego School District 308.
They will spend a total of five days in Florida learning about dolphins, sea turtles and the eco-system of the Florida Everglades in the Splash into Science program. The participants will swim with dolphins, snorkel in the largest coral reef in the United States and go behind the scenes at a sea turtle hospital. When they return, they will take an online class to receive high school credit from the nationwide organization sponsoring the trip, World Strides, www.worldstrides.com.
The only problem is with the financially difficult times we have been living in, the girls did not feel comfortable asking friends and family for donations.
Part of the money for the trip will be raised with a school-sponsored fundraiser for Domino's Pizza cards. For the purchase price of $15, $10 goes directly into the student's fund for the trip. Not a bad deal as there are coupons for Domino's including a free pizza on the card. But the Baker girls needed to brainstorm to find a way to raise more of the $3,942 it would cost for both of them to go.
They came up with a great idea to supplement their trip without costing others a dime. They are recycling aluminum. Recycling is not new to their family. Mom Kim told me that since the girls were born, she and her husband have recycled aluminum cans and put the money away for the girl's college fund.
Now Kaysea and Kelsea are crushing the cans and loading them up to take to the recycling center. "Hard work gives them character; they like to have a goal to reach," Kim said.
With the help of their parents and grandparents, they will even come to your home to pick up your cans, broken aluminum lawn chairs and those gutters laying next to your garage that were replaced this summer.
How can you help these enterprising young ladies? Instead of putting your cans in the recycling bin, put them in a bag and drop them off at 27 Cebold Drive, Oswego. Or you can arrange for a monthly pick-up by calling 630-551-0235. You can contact them via e-mail at bakerfamily5@att.net to arrange pickups or get on an e-mail list for updates. At $8 for a 10-gallon bag of crushed cans, it is going to take a lot of work — but Kelsea and Kaysea seem up to the task.
Contact at Laurahartman171@gmail.com.
