After three decades of crushing cans to raise funds to help children receive specialized medical care, the Achom Shrine Club has it down to a science.
After three decades of crushing cans to raise funds to help children receive specialized medical care, the Achom Shrine Club has it down to a science.
Housed in the Shriner’s Chatham clubhouse is a unique piece of machinery, powered by a four-cylinder Perkins engine from an old combine, that crushes 350 cans at a time into 27-pound wafers that are stacked into 3,313-pound bundles for shipping.
When the Shriners accumulate roughly 40,000 pounds of crushed cans, they are shipped to a broker in Brantford before being sent to a smelter in Kentucky.
The money from the crushed cans goes to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Montreal.
It’s estimated millions of thousands of dollars have been raised by the local Shriners over the years through their can-crushing operation.
Shriner Terry Maynard said it takes about $2 million a day to run the hospital, “so we’re just going our little contribution.”
He added, “People give us the cans, so it’s like found money.”
Maynard said the can-crushing operation started off using end crushers that could only do one can at a time.
The local Shriners then stepped up their game when their current can-crushing machine was built in 2003.
“This one is the mother of all can crushers,” Maynard said with a laugh, but it still takes about eight people to efficiently complete a can-crushing session.
“We’re very, very blessed at the Achom Shrine Club because we’ve got guys who commit themselves to doing it,” Maynard said.
The club even has non-Shriner volunteers who help out with the crushing, Shriner Dennis Atkinson added.
Shriner Gary Eagleson said some of the volunteers over the years have been family members of those who have benefited from Shriner programs.
Maynard said the money raised per load depends on market fluctuations. He said it can be as low as 57 cents a pound to more than $1.
Kincardine resident and Bruce Shrine Club member Alex Rauket, who is embarking on an eight-day 850-kilometre bike ride on June 28, called Kilometers for Kids, stopped by the Achom Shrine Club to pick up a $15,000 donation from proceeds of the local can -crushing operation.
Rauket, who will cycle from Port Elgin to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Montreal, was completing a trial run and promotion on Tuesday. In addition to receiving the donation, he was treated to Chatham-Kent’s town crier, George Sim,s doing a cry in his honour.
“It makes that long run into the headwind totally worth it,” Rauket said with a chuckle.
He set a goal of $50,000 and has been impressed by the generosity before the fundraiser has even officially started.
“This helps a lot. We have might to increase the target,” Rauket said after receiving the Achom Shiners donation.
Details about Rauket’s fundraiser are available at www.bruceshrineclub.ca.