22 Mar Jaelynn Gives Back With Pop Tab Program

Jaelynn Arroyo, an 8-year-old Florida native, has stayed at the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House near Egleston for her eating disorder treatments since the age of 2. Whenever she visits, Jaelynn brings Pop Tabs — lots of Pop Tabs.

“You’ll be so happy with these,” Jaelynn says, as she dumps the Pop Tabs she brought into the big bins.

“Jaelynn became involved with the Pop Tabs after seeing all the Houses filled with Pop Tabs,” says her mom, Jael, adding Jaelynn wanted to give back to the people who have helped her and her family in life-changing ways.

“These are going to be filled up to the top,” Jaelynn says as she puts her Pop Tabs in our gigantic bin.

Jael says, “She collected Pop Tabs from her feeding program, and our community to bring them in. She knows that it helps bring in some money for the Atlanta RMHC.”

Jaelynn and her mom come to Atlanta for treatments because there are no services close to where they live. It is a four-hour commute for Jaelynn to receive the care she needs at the Marcus Autism Center.

When Jaeylnn arrives at the Gatewood House, she announces, “I’m home.”

Jaelynn’s mother describes how the Atlanta RMHC has impacted her life, “I don’t have to worry about a bill, or where we are going to sleep. Everyone is so understanding of Jaelynn and her needs.”

Being from Florida, Jaelynn and her mother did not know how cold winter can be in Georgia. “The staff even gave Jaelynn a jacket because we were not prepared for the cold weather,” Jaelynn’s mother says, “Everyone here means the world to us.”