Fort Simpson (May 21/04) - A diabetic child in Calgary will be heading to summer camp, due in part to the thoughtfulness of Girl Guides, Brownies and Sparks in Fort Simpson.

Last year, Guider Leah Keats heard of a program in Alberta that raises money for a diabetic unit at a children's hospital. They redeem pop can tabs for cash.

"We're hoping that we'll get to correspond with one or two of the kids who go to the camp," she said. "It's a good cause."

Close to 25 Guides, Brownies and Sparks gathered at Rowe's Recycling depot on May 10 to collect as many tabs as they could in an hour. They left with close to five pounds of tabs, which filled close to three four-litre ice cream containers. That's an estimated 6,000 tabs, according to Keats.

The girls have been accumulating tabs from around the community since last fall, but they easily doubled their total while at the recycling depot.

"We didn't even make a dent in it," Keats said of the enormous stockpile. "I had no idea how much was there until we got there. We could go down there and spend a week and probably not get them all."

The participants used different techniques to free the tabs from the cans. Some wiggled them loose while other spun them around or just yanked them off without hesitation.

Girl Guide Karmina Cordero, 9, said she was happy to be part of the effort. "It's part of Guiding law to help others," she said.

Keats admitted that she has become somewhat obsessed with the activity.

"I was in Yellowknife last week and I was walking down the street and there was a pop can on the ground. So I looked, and yep, the tab was attached so I picked it up and pulled the tab off," she said, laughing.

She added that the girls are also seeking used ink jet and laser jet printer cartridges for another fund raiser.

Both projects have the added benefit of teaching the girls about reducing garbage at landfills.

"Every little bit you do makes a difference," said Keats.