There is so much bad news in the world today that sometimes it amazes me when I hear about someone doing something good for others. Such is the case of Caps of Love.
I just read an article about Caps of Love yesterday. It is actually the US division of something called “Bouchons d’Amour.” I don’t speech French, but I imagine that translates into…Caps of Love. Because what the charity is about is collecting plastic caps and sending them to be recycled. The money earned goes to either Federation Handisport, which uses the money to buy wheelchairs or Federation HandiChien, which uses the money to train service dogs for the disabled.
One really amazing thing about Caps of Love is that there is only one official volunteer attached to the US charity – Valerie Jones. It’s a good thing Jones never thought, “Eh, I am just one person, I can’t make much of a difference” because boy, has she!
Jones, of Lake Worth, Florida, collects Coke caps, toothpaste caps – if it’s a plastic cap, she collects it. Each one weighs just an ounce yet she has managed over the last nine years to collect enough to provide over 200 wheelchairs and 20 service dogs.
But, while Jones may be the only official US volunteer, she is certainly not alone. Twenty five people helped pack the most recent shipment of caps in boxes, Southern Self Storage donated space for the boxes and Anheuser-Busch paid to have the boxes shipped, which cost the company around $4,000. However, Jones calls it a community effort, with everyone in the community chipping in to collect the caps.
Jones is like double green – she not only helps recycle plastic, she is helping those in need by doing it. She said, “It’s taking something that is basically trash. We’re giving it a value.”
Jones hopes to eventually find a US recycling plant that will pay her so she can skip the shipping part.