Lake Elsinore School Teacher Donates 10 Years Worth Of Special Savings

Holly Hall was trying to get to 1 million, but after 10 years decided 157,000 was good enough.

That’s how many aluminum can pull tabs the Railroad Canyon Elementary School special education teacher was able to save in a decade.

“I decided enough is enough,” she said Friday, as her young students helped her load the treasure trove of aluminum pieces into a wheelbarrow, red wagon, bags and giant plastic jars.

 The students and Hall donated the tabs to Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House as part of the non-profit’s pull tab collection program, which saw its Annual Recycle Day on May 3, 2013 at Ted Runner Stadium at the University of Redlands.

Pull tabs are the aluminum tops from cans of soda and other beverages, and funds raised through recycling are used to help support day-to-day operations at the Loma Linda facility.

Danielle Walters serves as event manager for Ronald McDonald House Loma Linda. She was at the Lake Elsinore school site Friday to accept the pull tabs from Hall and her students. Over the course of the last year, Railroad Canyon Elementary students contributed to Hall’s collection and helped increase the growing pile of tabs.

“I don’t know what all of this is worth,” Walters said as she looked out over the Railroad Canyon shimmering stash, but said each year Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House receives thousands of dollars as part of the pull tab program.

Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House serves families whose children are hospitalized at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The House provides overnight accommodations so families can be close to their critically sick or injured children.

The mission of Ronald McDonald House is to keep families close during times of crisis, Walters explained.

“We actually serve children in this area,” she added.

During an outdoor assembly Friday at Railroad Canyon Elementary, Walters thanked students and Hall for their work. 

Following student applause, Hall and a handful of her school kids transported the pull tabs to Walters’ car.

“I sure hope they all fit,” Walters said to the smiling children. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had this many.”