I second whoever said tape the Snopes article to the can.
If we don’t fight ignorance, who will?
I think that the person should be told, then allowed to make her decision. But perhaps tell her privately to avoid any possible embarrassment.
A money jar may not do better, but I bet it will – it doesn’t seem like it takes much to do better than the RMH scheme. Actually, your colleague could even be clever: spin the futility of the tabs scheme to mobilize people into giving real money. I bet for some people, reading the Snopes article might just incense them enough to throw in some coins, or even notes.
That sounds like a good idea; my intention is definitely not to embarrass the woman who’s doing the collecting.
I haven’t done anything yet. All I’ve been doing is, during lunch, discreetly slipping my can tab to the one person that I told the article about to see if she can keep from laughing about it.
A penny campaign might work wonders, in fact. My parish’s school (not the one where I teach, though I think we should try it too) recently did a “Million Pennies” campaign to teach young kids taking math about the concept of “a million.” They ended up with $10,000 for the school out of it. That’s real money, unlike what can tabs would have brought.
Fuck snopes, I don’t swallow even half of their shit.
What’s the problem?
Quick question: When someone brings up the topic of popcan pull tabs, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Answer: Ronald McDonald House
Collecting those tabs does more than collect money. It collects DONORS. And it also raises awareness of the mission of the Ronald McDonald House, which is a very worthy cause.
The pulltab campaign permeates grade schools as well, and is an easy concept for children to comprehend. Cultivating a spirit of philanthropy in children is a Very Good Thing, and probably shouldn’t be fucked with.
Just my 8,153 tabs.
I would find out exactly what they are saving the tops for and contact the charity directly. Relying on snopes for all your opinions is just one step above relying on the National Enquirer.
It sounds like a way for people to feel good about themselves by “doing something” without actually doing anything.
Scenario One: “Shall I throw my soda-tab in the trash or lean over and drop it in this charity bin? Ooooh, I feel just like Lady Bountiful!”
Scenario Two: “Am I actually going to dig into my wallet and donate money to this charity? Hmmmm . . .”
Christ ccwaterback, instead of bitching and moaning about snopes like they stole your lunch money all throughout your childhood, why don’t you actually find out for yourself?
Results from 25 seconds on Google.
Oddly, it seems to coincide nicely with the snopes article.
Where to begin?
a.) It’s not an “opinion,” it’s a fact: can tabs have very little value.
b.) Even if it were “my opinion,” what gives you the idea that “all” of these come from Snopes? It’s exactly one case, not “all” cases.
c.) I’d say that believing something you read about on a coffee can in a break room is a little worse than going and finding an article on it, which uses cites, facts, and figures.
d.) Earlier, you said you don’t swallow half of what Snopes says. Fine; why would I care? But you’re willing to swallow that miniscule scraps of aluminum are somehow going to solve really big problems that require real money, not pocket change?
Why bother ‘breaking’ the news? It’s not a scam - I think that’s been established. Whether or not it’s worth it is really quite irrelevant. If you’re disappointed at the low amount of funds generated, I think your efforts would be better directed in drumming up more support for cash donations.
I don’t see the value in pissing all over someone’s attempt to collect for charity just because you don’t think it’s worth it.
Per the literature attached to recycling bin at my place of employment:
"Pull for RMH Families! Recycling proceeds directly benefit families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland through the family fund. This fund allows children to celebrate their birthdays in style, sends moms out for a haircut and manicure, and lets dad exercise at a fully equipped gym located just across the street. Also, it gives a family cab fare to the airport, money for groceries or tickets to local museums. "
So its not for chemo and it can be localized, which tugs at people hearts even more so. While its not the best way of fundraising, it is easy and it does provide some benefit. My tabs go into the pouch. My money goes to the charity of my choice, not the necessarily the one my employer suggests.
This information is from the local RMH website:
Family Fund
This fund helps provide families with some extra activities. Money is used at the manager’s discretion to purchase special items such as a winter coat and boots, cake, decorations and presents for birthday parties or to send weary parents on a “date.” Your contribution to this fund helps us meet the needs of families’ that go beyond food and shelter.
Pull Tabs
The inspiration of this project comes from Irene Ruehr, grandmother of Logan Ruehr who died shortly after he was born due to a rare and serious heart defect. The Shalersville Elementary School collected and delivered a quarter of a million pull-tabs to the House on May 28, 1998. This is a great way to get the community involved with a fun and easy project all year round benefiting families staying at the Ronald House.
In 2002, the House collected a grand total of $4,435.42 from the many pounds of pull tabs received throughout the year. Proceeds from the collection of pull-tabs benefit the Family Fund. (See above.)
Assuming we have positively established said coffee can of pop-tops is for McDonalds, which we haven’t.
Here’s the logic:
Coffee can with note that pop-tops are going to charity.
Look it up on snopes.
The all-knowing snopes says the McDonald’s pop-top collection is a hoax.
Therefor, the coffee can in the lounge is for McDonald’s, and the person who is collecting these pop-tops is a mooncalf.
I wouldn’t want to have people that think like this on a witch-hunt committee, that’s for sure.
Why is that a prerequisite? The snopes article doesn’t debunk “Pop tabs as the answer to all of RMDH’s problems” it debunks “Pop tabs as the currency of the future”. Pop tabs, individually, have little to no monetary value (closer to the ‘no’ side of the argument, actually). Snopes backs their argument up with articles and quotes from the National Kidney Foundation and recycling companies.
No, it doesn’t. Again, I’ll type this slowly so you can follow along - no…it…doesn’t. It says the McDonald’s pop-top collection doesn’t generate any more money than the pop-tops are worth, which is suprising little.
Said coffee can doesn’t have to be for McDonald’s. It could be to send Al Sharpton on a trip to the moon. Regardless, the snopes article does a sufficient job of explaining it’s purpose - that you’re going to need a bazillion pop-tabs to single-handedly raise enough dough to accomplish your goal, as there is no magical market out there paying a premium for these shiny nuggets of ordinary aluminum.
So go back to your other little snopes-bashing thread, and let us happily discuss the merits/misunderstandings associated with a pop-top charity drive, irregardless of any specific charity.
I believe people should never be ridiculed for attempting to perform a good deed.
I agree. However, I also don’t think educating somebody about the very low value of pop tabs is ridiculing them. They may decide to simply collect entire cans and donate the proceeds to charity.
Now, having said that, I do see one tiny advantage in collecting tabs. If one lives in a state with a can deposit law, one can remove the tabs to save them and at the same time return the cans for the deposit. Then after several thousand cans there will be a couple of additional bucks made.
I did say it was a tiny advantage.
If you REALLY want to create some controversy, point out the hypocrisy of the idea of a Ronald McDonald Hosue in the first place. The company that is chiefly responsible for the huge increase in childhood onset diabetes and the long term health problems that result from this disease create a nice, comfy, kid friendly, “family friendly” public image by helping a different set of sick kids. If McDonalds really wanted to help kids, they’d quit making happy meals and marketing specifically to kids. That would likely have a greater health benefit for the country than all the money they have collected to date.
hmmm…that’s a bit of a problem there, no? Since the deposit is based on getting back the whole can, I don’t think it would be right to donate the pull tops and expect a full $0.10 back, would it?
Step 1: Collect pull tabs!
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Chemo!
Ok, I know that isn’t what’s going on, but still…it made me laugh.