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Community Corner

Teens Recycle For Juvenile Arthritis

Danielle And Michael Guth Collect Cans For Charity

Danielle Guth, 15, and Michael Guth, 12, have spent the last year collecting bottles and cans for charity. They divided the money they raised between the Arthritis Foundation and a local food pantry.

Both teens, who have suffered from juvenile arthritis, are involved in arthritis fund-raising along with their parents. They began "Cans for a Cause" about a year ago. The first step was to print fliers. Michael Guth wrote the text, and Danielle Guth edited it and added pictures. Then they put them in their neighbors’ mailboxes.

Most of their cans come from their own home or from their Eska Drive neighbors. “If they have a ton already from a party, they just call us and we come get it,” Michael said. Otherwise, the Guths collect bags left beside mailboxes on the last Friday of each month.

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The recyclables are kept in the Guth family’s garage until they can be redeemed for cash. Because neither teen can drive, their parents take them and their haul to the store. “We’ll go grocery shopping and they’ll do the cans,” said mother Deborah Guth.

So far, the family has raised $125 for the Ledyard Food Locker and $135 for the Arthritis Foundation. They divide the year between the two organizations, working six months for each. Michael estimated that they collected about $20 in cans each month.

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The Guth family has worked to help the Arthritis Foundation in other ways as well. Deborah Guth is the organizer of an annual arthritis walk at Olde Mystick Village, and so the kids have been helping for years. “I’ve been involved since I was in like fourth grade,” Danielle said, “but I’ve been going to walks since I was really little.”

Michael and Danielle Guth each have their own team. Hers is called “Danielle’s Dream” and his is “Michael’s Mission.”

“We basically just call our relatives and ask them to join and donate,” Michael said. Last year’s walk raised $19,000.

The family also travels to the Arthritis Foundation’s conferences. “It’s where kids with arthritis from all over the country can meet,” Deborah Guth said. In between videogames and crafts, children learn from and help each other. Parents, too, use these meetings to network.

The Arthritis Foundation helps fund research to cure arthritis. It gives financial help to families unable to attend conferences. Another goal is to raise awareness about juvenile arthritis.

“It definitely makes a difference,” Danielle said. “When we went to the conferences a few years ago, there were a lot of kids in wheelchairs or on crutches… and now there are a lot less.”

Both Danielle and Michael Guth play sports and musical instruments. Danielle, who will soon begin 10th grade, hopes to become a nurse or a physical therapist. Michael, entering seventh grade, wants to be an amusement park ride designer.

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