Community Cans makes largest donation to community
Steuben First Responders’ Mary Johnson, Community Cans Can Collection Coordinator Mike Mullikin, Wauzeka First Responders’ Mary Woodson, Joan Peloch representing the Wauzeka Veterans Memorial, Wauzeka-Steuben School’s Shawn Zeeh and Wauzeka Fire Department’s Nick Zeeh met at the fire department to recognize Community Cans’ largest donation to local organizations. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
On the evening of April 4, Mike Mullikin and a group of volunteers drove up the winding ridge outside Wauzeka for what has become a spring ritual. Like a summer harvest, early spring is when Community Cans loads up their annual haul on semi-trailers to go to L & M Salvage in Richland Center.
For the past four years, Community Cans has collected aluminum cans from the Wauzeka, Steuben and rural Boscobel areas. The goal this year was 10,000 pounds.
More than 20 children and adults showed up on April 4 to load the first half, and, according to Mullkin, 25 people chipped in the following Monday evening to finish the job. It only took a few hours to take down the mountains of cans.
By the end of the first day — with a trailer full of empty soda and beer cans — it would’ve been hard to blame someone for being aluminumb to it all.
This year, Community Cans accumulated 9,420 pounds of cans and received $6,594, which is up significantly from 2024’s $3,920.
Mullikin gave credit to donors and volunteers who pitched in their cans or their time to get them gathered, bagged and loaded.
“Without them, we would never have reached this huge amount,” he said. “Everything from donating the cans to hauling them away is volunteer. There's no cost to anybody, and it all comes back to the community.”
On April 12, Mullikin met representatives from several local organizations at the Wauzeka Fire Department, where he announced that the organization donated $3,000 to the Wauzeka-Steuben School District, $1,000 to the Wauzeka Fire Department, $1,000 to the Wauzeka Veterans Memorial, $1,000 to Wauzeka First Responders and $500 to the Steuben Fire Responders.
“I’m so grateful for our fire department, first responders and our teachers,” said Mullikin. “I have such respect for everything they do. It’s an honor to give back to them.”
Mullikin also recognized the contributions of Mike and Kevin Bassett for donating the time to haul the cans to the salvage center, Jamie Richardson for furnishing the trailer and the local community for making recycling a priority.
Mullikin also thanked the Boondocks in Wauzeka, the Horseshoe Tavern in Wauzeka, the Hideout in Boscobel, Bob and Lou’s in Steuben, the Mt. Zion Pub and Old Diner 61 in Boscobel for their support throughout the year.
Over the past four years, the organization has taken thousands of pounds of cans and donated close to $19,000 to the local community.
The question is whether they can hit the 10,000-pound mark next year. Mullikin thinks they can.
