AKRON -ÊThe gauntlet has been thrown down.

Tippecanoe Valley High School has challenged Whitko High School to a competition, and the victor will be announced at the basketball game Friday at TVHS.

The winner will be whichever high school collects the most pop tabs for Riley Children's Hospital, Indianapolis.

Nancy Blake, WHS teacher, said at Whitko, the Sunshine Society is responsible for the tab collection. She said TVHS made the challenge to Whitko during the first week of December.

"They do a lot of things for Riley's here," said Blake, making the perfect competition. Cans are placed around WHS for the collection, she said.

Deb Zawlocki, adult roles and responsibility class teacher at TVHS, takes her son, a South Whitley Elementary student, to Riley for treatment once a year. She also knows another person at TVHS with ties to Riley. Recently, she said, when she was in Indianapolis, she went by the Ronald McDonald House, and the idea came about to do something. She said she thought the competition would be a way to bring fun and unity to Friday's game while helping a good cause.

Zawlocki said her adult roles and responsibility classes are responsible for planning and advertising the event.

Before the game, the pop tabs will be weighed before the winner is announced. The winning school gets the satisfaction of knowing they helped a worthy cause.

The tabs, made of aluminum, do not contain alloys like soft drink cans do. "Tabs are very much more valuable," she said. They can be turned in for recycling for money for the hospital.

There is no specific goal of how many the schools hope to collect by Friday.

Zawlocki said, "In the spirit of the season and in the spirit of healthy competition, we're trying to collect as many pop tabs as possible." [[In-content Ad]]