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Friends recycle to help Kids Cancer Care

Ben Spilak is turning cans and bottles into funds to support Kids Cancer Care, an organization he intended to volunteer with over the summer, after hearing it was struggling due to COVID-19.
Bottle Drive
Ben Spilak, left, and friend Mason Shopperly unload $1,700 worth of cans and bottles from a cargo trailer on June 29. Spilak organized the bottle drive in support of Kids Cancer Care. (Krista Conrad/Western Wheel)

A Foothills youth turned to his neighbours to support a good cause.

Ben Spilak recruited friend Mason Shopperly and dad, Larry Spilak, to pitch in and collect cans and bottles from the Heritage Pointe area in support of Kids Cancer Care.

The first-year university student was inspired to help out the organization, with which he was supposed to volunteer for the summer, when he learned it was struggling to find funding in light of COVID-19.

“I had gone through the interview process and I was set to go to camp with quite a few kids,” said Spilak. “It was a mix of current cancer patients and kids whose parents had cancer, and it’s basically just a great opportunity I wanted to be part of.

“I thought this would be a good way to still be involved.”

He placed fliers on local gates and advertised the bottle drive in a community newsletter to spread the word. The promotions worked, and Spilak and his crew filled the bed of a pick-up and a 16-foot trailer, raising $1,700.

It was his second bottle drive for Kids Cancer Care. One week prior, Spilak visited about 25 homes and returned close to $900 worth of recyclables, for a total of about $2,600.

He said the money raised was incredible, particularly since it was mainly from his own neighbourhood at Heritage Pointe.

“I might even do another drive in the future, we’ll see,” said Spilak. “It’s just great to see how many people contributed and it’s a great cause.”

Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca

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