Events and Activities : Mission Provides Over 144,000 Bottles for Free Clinic

For over seven years, a small and dedicated group of women at the Vinton Presbyterian Church have been on a mission to support medical treatment for the poor. They do it in a small way that has added up to a big difference in the area. Through the collection of used pill bottles, the group has provided over 144,000 cleaned bottles for reuse through a free clinic in Cedar Rapids.
Started in March of 2008, the collection is a way for this small group to have a positive impact. They don’t remember exactly how it started, but they think it was from a request to consider the project at a regional conference one of the women attended.
“We could do that,” said Lucille Yedlik, as she recalled how the program started. While the impetus to begin was unclear, their mission is very clear: providing clean bottles in good condition so that they can be reused and go to those in need.
“People like to help. A lot of people don’t want to throw away their bottles, because they are good for something. We get them from Florida, Arizona, wherever people travel and come back with bottles,” said Karen Donnellan, who has volunteered since the program began.
When the bottles come into the church, the group begins processing them by sorting what they receive.
‘We sort them into three piles first. Clean bottles. Ones that need washing. And Goo Gone ones,” said Yedlik. ‘Goo Gone ones’ refers to the bottles that come with their labels still attached. Each label must be removed entirely before the bottle can be cleaned and reused. Over the years, the group has found the best products for removing sticky labels from pharmacies.
Donnellan explains the process, “Lucille takes the ones that have the right lids and then washes them that way.” The caps are not all interchangeable so the group washes the bottles based on cap size. That way the group doesn’t have to spend their efforts matching up caps to individual bottles later.
Bottles that don’t qualify are removed from the piles. Everything can be used except opaque bottles, such as the white ones that often hold over-the-counter medications. They need to be see-through: orange, yellow, green, blue, pink. “Any of the colors will do,” Donnellan said. “They (the clinic) can also take liquid bottles, like for cough syrup. As long as we can get it cleaned out.”
Each month, the women clean between 400-700 bottles, taking one Tuesday morning per month and spending about three hours processing the containers.
And it is quite the process. Labels are soaked, then peeled. Any marker on the bottles and caps is scrubbed off using a tooth brush and cleaning solvent. Then the bottles are washed, dried, and placed in new, clean 13-gallon drawstring bags. “I can take 2,100 at a time, because that’s seven bags and that’s what will fit in my car,” said Yedlik. She has been driving the pill bottles to the clinic in Cedar Rapids for years.
Over the course of seven years, they have had a steady stream of bottles coming in. Various people collect them from friends, family, and people they know. Then they bring the bottles to the church and place them in a container to be sorted and cleaned.
“Some people probably don’t know it’s available,” said Joan Oliphant, who has been helping with the project for the past few years. She said she thinks that even more people would participate if they were aware that their pill bottles could be dropped off and reused.
When asked how people could help and get involved, the women said that they are always glad to have more bottles. But it speeds the process dramatically if the bottles are washed and the labels removed. Volunteers are also appreciated.
“You put an article in the paper and we’ll be flooded,” exclaimed Yedlik, while Donnellan chuckled and Oliphant smiled.
Pill bottles, and supplies to help with the project including 13-gallon drawstring kitchen bags, Goo Gone, and paper towels, can be dropped off at the Vinton Presbyterian Church on weekdays 8-12. To find out more about the various ministries and missions of the Vinton Presbyterian Church, visit them online at www.vintonpresbyterian.org or find them on Facebook.