Vanessa Brown, a tenth-grade teacher, is in the process of collecting bottle caps to help a student’s mom battle cancer. The student, who attends the Academy of Health and Science, has a mother who gets chemotherapy in exchange for plastic bottle caps.
Brown has been offering extra points to students who are willing to help with the bottle cap collection effort.
“In Mexico, there is a hospital that gives out chemotherapy treatment in exchange for plastic bottle caps, ” said Vanessa
Ventures such a this allow the community to come together in an easy and inexpensive way which shows their support.
However, Snopes.com reports that the majority of these activities are hoaxes and are often false claims that yield no monetary results.
“Plastic bottle caps have no inherent monetary value. Unlike aluminum cans (and the metal tabs attached to them), they aren’t worth anything as raw material because such caps are the wrong form of plastic to be recycled. There is therefore virtually no market for used plastic bottle tops.” said Barbara Mikkelson, the author of the Snopes.com article.
However, Brown has faith in that the student and their mother are really in need of these caps to be able to get the chemotherapy.
“We have to believe that what we are doing is for a good cause… We have to have faith,” said Brown
Brown will continue to offer extra credit for bottle caps despite the possibility that it is not true. She continues to have trust that what she is doing it not only right but that it is good.