Community rallies to donate more than 2,000 pounds of pop tabs in memory of McAlexander

Years ago, Kerri and Earl McAlexander tried to offer their son, Jacy, a choice.
“When he was about 8 years old, we told him that he’d need to make a choice between 4-H and Boy Scouts,” Kerri said in an email to The Graphic-Advocate this week. “We said that he should probably only be in one or the other. He told us that he could do more good for the world if he was active in both groups.”
How could she argue with that logic, Kerri said.
She didn’t. Jacy joined both. And when he was diagnosed with cancer not long after, he picked what became the project he will be remembered for – collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. Jacy, 17 and a South Central Calhoun High School junior, died of Ewing’s sarcoma in May.
Last week, his friends and family were able to honor his giving spirit by taking 2,544 pounds of pop tabs to a Des Moines recycling center. Those tabs were turned into a $1,195 donation to the Ronald McDonald House.
Read more in the July 18 edition.