cans-for-cancer

Thousands of pop cans and bottles, in fact more than 46,000, have been donated to help families facing cancer diagnoses. Hawkeye Cans for Cancer was the brainchild of Nathan Guy who passed away earlier this year. His wife, Renee Guy has since established the program to help the community, “Well, the idea came from when my husband was diagnosed with ALL, which is acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, and it later developed into leukemia. We were able to cover those extra expenses ourselves, but he was a man who was always thinking of others and knew that not all families could afford to take time off of work, and pay for gas and food during those hospital stays. He developed this idea because we would have cans and bottles build up in our garage and that’s when the light bulb really went off for him.”

Nathan Guy was 39-years-old when he passed away after battling cancer for 19 months. He was a husband, a son, a father, a brother, an uncle, and a Washington High School alum.

Renee Guy adds that it’s been a rewarding program helping local families in honor of Nathan, “This was my husband’s dream. He always wanted to get it going after he got better from his cancer, but unfortunately he passed away in February and wasn’t able to see it through. And since his death we have developed a committee and raised money to follow through with his dreams. Since we started this spring, more than 46,000 cans and bottles have been donated which allows us to help several families just here in Washington.”

Anyone is welcome to donate their cans at the WCDC redemption center on East Washington Street. Businesses can also request donation boxes be set up and then when it gets filled up a committee member of Hawkeye Cans for Cancer will come pick them up. Receptacles are placed around the Washington County Fairgrounds this week to collect donations. Families who could use assistance are encouraged to apply by contacting a committee member or through the Hawkeye Cans for Cancer Facebook page.