| ALUMINUM COLLECTION DATES
October 19, 2008 - Bus Circle (3:00PM - 6:00PM) 472 pounds collected.
December 14, 2008 - Bus Circle (12:00PM - 3:30PM)
March 22, 2009 - Bus Circle (3:00PM - 6:00PM)
May 30, 2009 - Bus Circle (3:00PM - 6:00PM)
September 13, 2009 - Bus Circle (3:00PM - 6:00PM)
Please bring aluminum pop and beer cans. Please do not bring glass or
plastic bottles or tin soup, vegetable, or fruit cans. Thanks!!
This year, with the approval of Mr. Metz and Father Tom Walker, I am planning
what will easily be the largest effort I’ve ever made in the area of
fundraising. I plan to mobilize athletic families, school families, church
families, staff people, and community members to collect enough aluminum cans
that we derive the revenue needed to replace the fifty-two oldest computers
in our school, namely, the machines installed in our first, second, and third
grade classrooms, as well as one fourth grade and one fifth grade room.
Let me explain: the school opened in September of 2000 with approximately
seventy computers deployed in school and office locations. During the nine
years since these machines were purchased, we’ve added approximately twenty-
five computers per year to reach the present size of 232 computers deployed
on our campus. In those eight years we’ve lost about twenty machines to
various component failures, kept a small stockpile of parts to service
failing units, and continued to use the operating machines in eleven of our
first floor classrooms. At this point, the remaining computers are nearly
twice as old as the first graders who are using them, and a definitive plan
to replace them must be initiated.
The new machines I’m considering to replace our present units will cost
approximately $400.00 per unit. Thus, the total cost for fifty-two new
machines will approach $21,000.00. After a discussion with Mr. Metz about
this idea, he has agreed that this year’s volleyball and basketball playoff
revenue (our annual athletic department fundraisers) can be directed this
year towards a large-scale technology upgrade for the school. The result of
that decision is that I will be able to raise approximately the first quarter
of the money we need through efforts we’re all accustomed to in the athletic
department. Further, you can be assured that I will solicit financial
support from the Men’s Club, the Home and School Association, and any other
groups interested in seeing our school get the computer replacements it needs.
The cash value of a single aluminum can is about three cents. Thus, raising
$16,000.00 will require the collection of about 700,000 aluminum cans. While
that sounds like a lot of cans, my experience last year suggests that it’s a
very reachable goal. I collected aluminum cans from the staff room, from
playoff events, and at home and accumulated about 3100 cans. Considering the
number of families in our school, the parish, and the community, and
considering the energy of some members in our church, we could reach our goal
or even surpass it.
At this point, I’m planning to have four collection days over the course of
the school year when I will meet aluminum collectors in the school parking
lot to accept their crushed cans, load them into a massive trailer, and
transport them to our recycling partner in St. Paul. Since St. Ambrose lacks
the space to store a large number of cans, it will be essential to convert
our aluminum into cash as quickly as possible and deposit the revenue with
our Business Administrator, Ron Neuser, for safekeeping. When a large enough
amount of money has been raised, probably in early March, Mr. Metz and I will
select a machine type and order as many replacement machines as we can afford.
Obviously, this is a huge undertaking. This project’s success depends
completely on the willingness of the Saint Ambrose population to “buy in” and
do the work this lofty goal requires. Considering that faith-filled Catholic
citizens of Woodbury are responsible for building St. Ambrose in the first
place, there’s every reason to believe the community will embrace and support
this effort. I will need help from a lot of people in order to succeed.
I’ve been thinking about this project for several months, and in that time
I’ve come up with a list of ways everyone at St. Ambrose could contribute:
1. In order to accomplish this project, I will need access to a fairly large
cargo trailer. I do not own one, and I don’t want to rent one. If you have
a large cargo trailer and would be comfortable loaning it to me on a number
of occasions or joining me in the parking lot for a few Sunday evenings,
please contact me.
2. The Saint Ambrose community has always been blessed with numerous
families and individuals with considerable volunteer energy. If you are such
a person, you could easily conduct your own aluminum collection efforts and
pass the cans along to me during on established collection date.
3. Every member of Saint Ambrose could solicit the cooperation of their
neighbors next door and across the street. Doing so could potentially
quadruple each family’s ability to secure aluminum cans.
4. Scout groups could take on this work as a service project.
5. Energetic volunteers might solicit access to aluminum cans from local
restaurants, bars, VFWs, and other businesses.
6. Independent and energetic collectors might also collect their own
aluminum, cash it in themselves, and send the money to school in an envelope
marked “aluminum fund”.
7. Adults might consider establishing an aluminum collection site at their
places of work and carrying home aluminum weekly.
8. Aluminum from households and neighborhoods that had been routed simply to
municipal recycling programs can instead be diverted to our school to pay for
the technology upgrades we need.
9. Nothing is easier than money. Folks who see the need to replace our
aging computers but who aren’t able to collect aluminum themselves might see
the sense making a direct financial contribution to the effort. Sending a
check to school in an envelope marked “aluminum fund” would be a much
appreciated gesture of support.
10. Finally, if somebody feels strongly about working on this project, I
could use a partner in organizing these efforts and communicating with the
greater community.
Thanks for finding a way to help in this undertaking.
Respectfully,
Tim Demco
Saint Ambrose of Woodbury Catholic School
Technologist/Athletic Director
Phone: 651 768-3053
Email: Tim.Demco@SaintAmbroseofWoodbury.org
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