An Oro-Medonte man is on a mission to turn aluminum can tabs into funds to support Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH).
Gary Nicholson, 81, was born and raised in Orillia and resides in Big Cedar Estates near Bass Lake. Since the COVID-19 pandemic put his usual winter trips to Florida on hold, Nicholson has been collecting pop can tabs and squashing aluminum cans for recycling rebates.
“If you accumulate a bunch, you can take it all into a recycler at one time,” he explained. “The more weight you got, the better price you’ll get.”
In December, Nicholson used funds he collected from his aluminum can tabs to start a community-based fundraiser called 'Tabs for SMH Orillia'. The fundraiser encourages other citizens to save their tabs and donate them to the cause.
“I just thought this was a good thing to get the community involved in,” he said. “It’s something that doesn’t cost anybody anything, you can find them on the street and all over the place.”
Nicholson has tab donation bins set up at the Orillia Legion, Information Orillia (located inside the Orillia Public Library), and at his house at 36 Cameron Drive. The collection box stored in his home will soon need to be relocated outside in the garage, he says.
“I’ve got a 50-pound butter box full of tabs,” he said. “It continues to grow bigger and bigger.”
Nicholson doesn’t have a fundraising goal, but he does know what he would like to see the money go towards.
“I was going to go buy some asphalt re-filler myself and fill the potholes in the (hospital) driveway,” he chuckled. “Going into the hospital can be terrible.”
While Nicholson could have chosen any charity to benefit from his fundraiser, he says the hospital is near and dear to his heart.
“I think it’s a great cause,” he said. “The staff at the hospital have always been there for us and we should try to do something for them.”
Nicholson is hoping more local businesses and restaurants would be open to hosting donation bins on their property. Those who are interested can contact him at 705-326-4996 or via email: [email protected].
