Bryce and Riley (aged 12 and 10 respectively) of Parsonsfield, Maine, have been collecting cans and bottles to raise money for Cans for a Cure for nine years. They’ve rallied neighboring communities to assist their efforts in gathering redeemable containers for cancer research since 2009.
When Bryce was two years old, his mother Katie wanted him to be part of something that would make a difference in the community. Katie was already a fan of Cans for a Cure, so the decision to start a bottle drive seemed logical.
At first, the family stored bottles and cans in their garage, transporting relatively small loads by car 40 miles from Parsonsfield, Maine to Portland. In 2014, Steve Estes, owner of P.Y. Estes & Son, Inc., was impressed with the boys’ operation and offered his business garage as a collection space. He also offered his pink dump truck, telling the boys that if they could fill it, they could take it to Portland for the delivery.
Well, they filled it. Three years in a row, in fact. In 2016, they even filled a tractor trailer box donated by Brent Day, owner of William A. Day Jr. & Sons, Inc. Last year, the Parsonsfield Maine family surprised the collaborators with a large donation of over 200,000 bottles and cans, or an equivalent of a $10,500 donation.
Despite the fact their Cans for a Cure trailer was robbed in April of this year, Bryce and Riley remain steadfast and unfazed in their resolve to help their community. CLYNK invites you all to join Bryce and Riley in contributing to Cans for a Cure, whose proceeds will benefit the Dempsey Center in South Portland. The Dempsey Center provides a personalized, holistic, and integrated approach to cancer prevention and education for families throughout Maine.
UPDATE: On Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Bryce and Riley rolled into the Maine Mall parking lot to deliver numerous pink truckloads of cans and bottles to Cans for a Cure. After a series of thefts slowed them down in April, they bounced back with a haul of recyclables worth over $5,000. Keep up the great work, guys!
(Riley, Lori of WJBQ 97.9, and Bryce from left to right)
