Cans for a Cause

Saturday, April 30th, the Masuk Music Department hosted the annual can and bottle drive. Orchestra, band, chorus, and guard participated in this event to raise money for Masuk’s music endeavors. The Music Department hosts this event once every month in hopes to support the students in their music expenses. 

“The can and bottle drive has been going for decades and it is a great fundraiser for the music department because not only do we get to come together  and spend time together on a Saturday morning but we also get to help the earth and make some money for the department.” 

Julia Strong Masuk’s Fine Arts Chair runs the can and bottle drive in Masuk’s very own driveway. 

“It depends on the time of the year. Right after the holiday season like New Year’s Eve we might make up to 900 dollars on a weekend on rainy days we make less but the community of Monroe remembers us and has been really great. We appreciate everyone for saving their bottles and cans for us, overall it does bring in several thousand dollars to the department every year.”

The Can and Bottle Drive is a great way for the Masuk community to reach out to the Monroe community. Around 15 students are given the opportunity to volunteer for the drive, but volunteering isn’t limited to those in music classes. Anyone who wants to help out or has an interest in music is able to volunteer. The can and bottle drive provides students with 2x the amount of community service hours to help them achieve their 100 hours for graduation. 

“This money over the years has supported kids traveling to amazing places to see live music or have clinics and live performances with professional musicians. Sometimes the MMPA (Monroe Music Parents Association) would pay for the bus for a trip to help make the trip more affordable for more students.” said Strong.

The money helps to support all students in the music department in whatever paths they take. The town of Monroe comes to Masuk to support the kids as well as donate money to help the music department thrive. The process of returning the bottles and cans and collecting the profits is done through a private company.

“We work with a recycling company that provides us with bags to use to collect our recycles and then pays us a flat rate per bag. We do the sorting, the packaging and the labor and then we get a flat rate for the bag and then that person takes it to a larger recycling facility.”

This corporation between the private recycling company and Masuk helps the Monroe community not only support the MHS music students but also the earth. Recycling is a vital component in everyday life and when taking a small step such as recycling bottles and cans can help take a step in the right direction. Masuk has been proving Monroe with this benefit of an intown bottle drive and promoting a healthy carbon footprint for our town.