News ‘Cans For Kids’ Program has been a Great Success!

If you were to venture up to the Vinton Parks & Recreation Department’s maintenance shop on any given day, there’s a good chance that you might hear the click-clank sound of cans and bottles being sorted. These cans have been generously donated to VPRD’s ‘Cans for Kids’ program from people like you and the support for this program continues to be absolutely wonderful! Still going strong for 11 years since its original inception in 2001, the funds raised from these can and bottle donations have totaled nearly a whopping $30,000! This program was started when the redemption centers in Vinton closed their doors. People wanted a place to get rid of their cans and bottles yet not have to deal with all of the tedious counting and sorting. Farmers Market Legend, Engineer Bob, suggested to VPRD that they should try collecting them and the rest is history…

The funds accumulated through the ‘Cans for Kids’ program has enabled our department to purchase a wide variety of items that have been intended for and utilized by Vinton’s youth. Recently, VPRD has used ‘Cans for Kids’ funds to purchase new roller skates for the Vinton Skate & Activity Center. Being able to subsidize our purchase of these skates allows us to be able to bring you top quality equipment while still maintaining the same low admission fees. Additionally, we have recently used funds towards the purchase of two brand-spankin’ new basketball backboards that were installed in August at the Vinton Recreation Center. These clear-paneled backboards look incredible and will undoubtedly be heavily utilized in the chilly winter months ahead! Maintaining fun, safe places that Vinton youth look forward to utilizing in their non-school hours is a priority for our department and we are pleased to be able to utilize ‘Cans for Kids’ funds to be able to accomplish this important goal!

Additionally, the following list provides a glimpse into some of the items purchased over the years for an array of youth programs and special events:

- Soccer goals, nets and soccer balls

- Little League/T-Ball equipment such as pitching machines, bases, bats, bags, baseballs, softballs & helmets

- Tennis ball machine and tennis balls

- Golf balls and tees

- Volleyball nets and volleyballs

- Ribbons for the annual FREE Hershey Track Meet

- Prizes for Party in the Park’s FREE youth sports tournaments

- Game prizes for the annual Party in the Park’s FREE Kid’s Night

- Game prizes for the annual FREE Kid’s Spooktacular Halloween Downtown Party

- Game prizes for the annual Winter Carnival

- Adjustable basketball backboard and rim at the Vinton Recreation Center

- Bike Safety Rodeo equipment

A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to Mike Elwick and Alan Woodhouse, two individuals that have been generously volunteering their time to take on the daunting (and messy) task of ensuring that the donated cans and bottles are sorted through in a timely manner and see to it that the ‘Can Shop’ remains nice and tidy. The department was also lucky to have had Drew Mason, now retired in Arizona, sorting the cans for many years.

If you are interested in contributing your bottles and cans to this great program, we would welcome your support! Donating is easy – we have a 24-hour, 7-days a week drop spot crate at the VPRD maintenance shop and items can also be brought to the Vinton Recreation Center. We can even pick up larger quantities from businesses and residents within the community! Just give us a call at the VPRD office at 472-4164 and let us know that you’d like to help out! Every little bit helps us immensely and we truly appreciate all of the community’s support in helping make Vinton a great place for kids!