The number of aluminum can pop tops collected and donated under Kaylon Holt’s coordination continues to grow. At last count, the total donations exceeded 2 million pop tops. As frequent readers recall, the Perry Wellness Center peer spearheaded a donation drive to Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, with funds going to assist families of seriously ill children throughout the region.

Some of Kaylon’s greatest assistance has come from Dent Hardware in Buena Vista. The store maintains a collection station for Marion County residents, who support the endeavor in PWC founder and CEO Stuart Perry’s childhood hometown. Recently, PWC staff member Mulkey McMichael (another Marion County resident) was shopping at the hardware store, when he was approached by owner John Dent. He informed Mulkey about the latest donation from customer Greg Craig.

“Greg is a common customer in our store,” Dent recalled. “Some weeks back, he saw the collection bottle on our counter and asked about the donations and Ronald McDonald House. We told him, and he later brought in two bags of pop tops!”

Mulkey agreed to carry the tops back and see that they were prepared for delivery to Columbus. The tops will be counted into bags of 1,000 tops and then consolidated. He explained, “We had to weigh this larger donation. Kaylon will also count the tops for an accurate number. Right now, the tops weigh over 9.3 pounds. This is a lot of tops – and Kaylon wants more!”