You may have noticed that 4-H collects pop tabs around the county and wondered what they were for. Well, they are turned into the Ronald McDonald House in Colorado Springs. For every pound of pop tabs turned in, they get between 25 cents and 30 cents, and a pound is around 1,267 pop tabs. In one year the approximate amount of money they receive is $3,000, so that is a lot of pop tabs. The money raised from the pop tabs will be put to use in the House by buying stuff that is needed.
The Ronald McDonald House is a place where families with kids in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hospital for Children can stay while their children are staying in the hospital. This is their main focus, but it also helps people who have kids in the Pediatric/Pediatric Intensive Care Units at Memorial, as well as St. Francis Medical Center. When you have kids in the hospital, you may not be able to pay for a hotel and you would need somewhere more comfortable than a chair for days on end. The Ronald McDonald House offers a place for families to sleep and relax not far from the hospital. The House offers nine bedrooms, five bathrooms, and you are able to get a home-cooked meal on most nights. It has a play/living room, and a fenced yard with a play area in it.
The pop tabs are just one way for you to help the Ronald McDonald House. You can make money donations. You can volunteer. You can purchase things to send that are on the wish list on the Ronald McDonald website. You also can take part in their meal program. Any way you help the Ronald McDonald House helps the families that are staying there and are going through a hard time.
Would you like to help the 4-Hers of Montezuma County help the Ronald McDonald house and help others? Please collect your pop tabs and then call me and I will come and pick them up and they will be taken up to Colorado Springs after the county fair. My name is Emily Graf, and my home number is 970-533-7548. The pop tabs are also collected in a basket at Teds (by the Conoco) in Mancos.
There will be an enchilada dinner fundraiser March 19 for the concert that will take place at the fair. They will start serving at 5 p.m. at the Lewis-Arriola Community Center. Following the dinner, there will be a silent auction and dessert auction. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids under 5. If you would like tickets, you can contact the Extension Office at 565-3123 or any 4-H member. You also can also get your tickets at the door.
The next County Council Meeting will be at 7 p.m. March 14 at the Montezuma County Annex, 103 N. Chestnut, Cortez. Here are some of the highlights from last months meeting. It was decided that the proceeds from the pumpkin patch will go to the clubs that help take care of the pumpkins. The scholarship in honor of Jan Sennhenn was discussed. The committee that is getting it together talked to Mrs. Sennhenn and found out how she wanted it to be, and it went back to the clubs. The County Council will discuss this again at this months meeting. It was decided that the Fine Arts competition will take place at the fair.