HARRISONBURG, Va. (ABP) — Bryan Acker is a collector. He doesn't collect autographs or postage stamps or fine art. Acker collects tabs from aluminum cans. During the past 10 years, he's collected over 13 million of them, helping kidney dialysis patients pay for their treatments.
Bryan and his mother, Betty, are members of Harrisonburg Baptist Church in Harrisonburg, Va. Their fellow church members are among Bryan's biggest supporters. He also receives tabs from other area churches, several local schools and community organizations, and even patrons of a local bank.
Acker, 52, works at Friendship Industries, a sheltered workshop that trains and employs persons with mental and physical disabilities. His co-workers save their tabs for him. The AARP chapter in Staunton, Va., collects tabs and once a year invites Bryan and his mother to lunch to give him the tabs and receive an update on his progress. He has even received a shopping bag of tabs from a church in North Carolina.
When he began collecting, a clinic in Harrisonburg offered a program where the tabs could be redeemed to pay for dialysis treatments. Bryan was excited at the possibility of helping others. When this program was later discontinued, Acker was discouraged. He continued collecting and began recycling the tabs himself and sending a check to the National Kidney Foundation in Richmond, which uses the money to provide dialysis and transportation for individuals who cannot afford it.
Acker used to count each tab. As more and more were received, that became too time-consuming. So he began counting the tabs by the juice can full. Then he used jars and now he uses plastic buckets which can hold up to 5,000 tabs each. His mother says it's not unusual for Bryan's bedroom and a guest room to be packed with bags and buckets of tabs.
Several times a year he takes his tabs to a recycling plant in Harrisonburg. He may receive from $45 to $65 for his treasures, depending on their weight. The Ackers have not kept a record of how much money Bryan has received over the years from collecting can tabs.
Acker often receives letters from patients who have received free dialysis as a result of his efforts, and every one brings joy to his heart.
Will he ever get tired of collecting can tabs? His mother says, “Absolutely not. This is his life.”
-30-
— Barbara Francis is on the staff of the Religious Herald, newsjournal of Virginia Baptists.
— Photo available.