It’s Saturday morning at Assumption School on South Adams Street in Manchester. Well, not just any Saturday morning; it’s the once-a-month Recycle Saturday morning. And that means Assumption School students and parents gather at the Church parking lot next door to the school to take delivery, sort and package bottles and cans donated from the community for recycling.
The inspiration behind this monthly initiative is Sister Joan Marie, 2nd grade teacher at Assumption School. She’s been recycling for 29 years, six of those at Assumption School. Each month, on the morning of the Bottle Drive, you will see her walking the area before 9:00 when the drive begins; wearing an apron over her black and white habit, posting signs so those dropping off donations will know where to go. She’s focused on the mission as she doles out assignments to arriving volunteers.
Two dads arrive early to set up the sorting tables near the 24-foot box truck parked nearby that will transport the sorted and counted donations to the Recycle Center in nearby South Windsor. As Assumption Church parishioner Leo Belval arrives, students rush to his car to help unload bags of bottles and cans. “Good Luck,” he calls back, turning to wave as he gets back in his car, able to check this errand off his Saturday list. Students and parents busily sort cans from bottles, separate plastic from glass, then count and package.
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A favorite job of the students is to jump up into the truck and arrange the bundles for transport. This truck holds thousands of cans and bottles. It was filled almost to capacity once, last August 2012, with the highest count to date of 15,240 bottles and cans. This yielded funds of $762 which Sister Joan Marie used for the School. Through this effort, Sister Joan Marie has funded school supplies outside of the school budget. She has also supported tuition scholarships that make it possible for some students to attend the school. Since school resumed in September, the monthly Bottle and Can Drive has raised $1,341 through November. Sister and her student and parent volunteers have a goal to fill the truck again and beat their August count of 15,240. They are hoping people from Manchester and surrounding communities will save their bottles and cans during the holiday season and bring them to the next Recycle Drive on the second Saturday of 2014 - January 11th, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon. - Assumption School, 27 Adams Street, South in Manchester.
