Hinckley now has donation site for Aluminum Cans for Burned Children

HINCKLEY TWP. — Hinckley residents can now support burn survivors when they drop off their aluminum cans at a trash receptacle near the fire department. Becky Mundy is an educator at Akron Children's Burn Institute and the president of Aluminum Cans for Burned Children. She said residents can drop off their aluminum cans to one of the about 50 donation centers in the area to support Aluminum Cans for Burned Children's mission of supporting burn survivors through educational programs and activities. "Burns are a journey," she said. "It's a lifelong experience that these patients go through. It's not like breaking your arm where you have a cast, you fix it and you're better. With burns, they wear their scars." RSK Services Grant Specialist Rhonda Kadish said she met Hinckley Fire Chief Matt Payne at a Northeast Ohio Safety Educators Network meeting, and she worked with him to facilitate the program in the township. Kadish connected Payne with Hudson resident and philanthropist Marci Matthews, who funded the decorative wraps for other cities' donation sites like Hudson and Kent. Matthews paid for the newest site in Hinckley, which looks like a firetruck. "I think it's amazing and also adorable," she said. "Hopefully it inspires people to drop their cans off there." Matthews said part of the reason she supports Aluminum Cans for Burned Children is because the organization allows burn survivors to have what they need to heal when it can be costly. "(Aluminum Cans for Burned Children) supports a lot of things, but one of the things that's super expensive, especially if you think of children as they grow and change, are the pressure garments," she said. "They have to be custom made for each burn survivor as they heal." Rumpke Waste and Recycling Services donated the 6-yard trash receptacle to Hinckley and Yoder Graphic Systems designed and wrapped the receptacle. "We love to support anything in the community," Yoder Graphic Systems owner Marc Yoder said. "We have a lot of first responder customers, and we try to do anything we can to support them and their mission." Payne said the receptacle will be at 1616 Ridge Road across from the fire department's drive and toward the youth fields. It will be open for donations 24 hours a day. "The money goes for a good cause," he said. "Hopefully it will take off and grow and be a worthwhile stop for them." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.