At an average of 58 cents a pound, the Southeastern Firefighters' Burn Foundation expects to raise about $50,000 from aluminum can donations this year.
The foundation has donation trailers set up at 30 locations across Georgia and South Carolina.
"We probably started out with a few can trailers and expanded it," said Dawn Gantt, the development director for the foundation, which provides assistance to burn victims. "We're constantly getting calls from people who want to help and make a difference."
In the next week, Gantt said, she'll take a new trailer to Peachtree City, Ga.
Last year, the foundation experienced a drastic drop when prices fell to 27 cents a pound for aluminum cans and overall collections fell by more than $10,000.
Aluminum cans account for 7 percent of the money raised for the foundation, CEO and President Jo Maypole said.
Money raised contributes to a 50-bed retreat near Doctors Hospital's Joseph M. Still Burn Center, which offers families of burn victims a place to stay while their relatives recover.
"We are fortunate that our aluminum can donations are fairly steady," Maypole said. "I think this is related to the fact that we probably have more people involved in collecting the cans for us than in the past."
The program has been around almost since the foundation's creation in 1988 and provides a way to raise money inexpensively.
"It gets the firefighters involved and the citizens involved," Gantt said. "They're supporting us and going green at the same time."
Gantt said she hopes prices stay up this year and don't drop to the dangerous lows they did in 2009.
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