DeWitt fundraiser helps marching band turn scrap metal into gold medals

• The DeWitt Scrap Metal Drive has been funding the program for years.
• When the community donates their excess items for recycling, the money goes back to the band.
• The video shows information about the campaign and how the band earns money for their season with it.

(Below is a transcript of the full broadcast story)

I’m your neighborhood reporter, Russell Shellberg, here in DeWitt. A marching band consists of brass, woodwinds, percussion and more. This weekend, the DeWitt Marching Band is adding metal.

Scrap, yes. For years, the band has used metal as a primary fundraiser for their program, to purchase uniforms, instruments, props, and other band supplies.

“If you have stuff sitting in that corner of your garage, for example because you’ve rebuilt the pipes, or you’ve got a car battery or an appliance, we can recycle that stuff through Lewis Padnos Recycling. They give us money for that and we use that to fund the band,” said organizer Chris Lau.

Last year, Lau says, the band went without fundraising because of higher metal return prices. This year, prices are around $140 per ton, which could result in a good payout for the program.

“Some years we get $2,000, and I understand some years we’ve gotten around $12,000. So the more we can get and the better we can distribute it, the more the band will get,” Lau said.

Lau says that as long as the item is at least 50% metal, it can be recycled during the fundraiser, which will take place Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Items can also be picked up via the band’s fundraiser email.

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