Local girl recycling cans earns enough money to visit siblings - East Idaho News
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Local girl recycling cans earns enough money to visit siblings

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IDAHO FALLS — A local girl who asked the community for help has been floored by the amount of support she’s received.

Tasha Holmstead, a 10-year-old living in Idaho Falls, asked the community to donate their used soda cans, beer cans and scrap metal to her so she could recycle them. She’s been recycling these items to earn money to visit her three older half-siblings who live in Oklahoma.

RELATED: Local girl recycling cans to raise money to see her siblings

Between recycling items and monetary donations from community members, Tasha went from $336 to raising nearly $2,000. The family says this should cover airline tickets for Tasha to visit her siblings at Thanksgiving and during her Spring Break.

“I didn’t think that a lot of people would notice (us) and put themselves out there to help,” Tasha says. “Thank you for putting yourselves out there to help me.”

Tera’s noticed how not having all the siblings together affects Tasha, but now Tasha knows she’ll be able to see them again soon, and Tera believes it has lifted her spirits.

“She talks to her siblings all the time about (visiting),” Tera said.

Tasha didn’t only collect donations, but she took the time to talk with many of the people who donated to her cause. She found that some of them wanted to help her because they had lost a sibling, and they know how important it is to spend time with loved ones while you can.

One story that touched Tasha came from a local business owner who wishes to remain anonymous.

“I remember he said, ‘We don’t know what comes today or tomorrow. It’s a secret ahead,’” Tasha recalls. “He said, ‘I want her to see her siblings so she can make memories.’”

The mom and daughter duo would like to thank everybody who helped Tasha, especially Pacific Steel and Recycling in Idaho Falls and its branch manager Kevin Greener.

This experience showed the two of them that people are good, and they hope to pay it forward.

“This has opened my eyes even more that this is what Tasha and I want to be like,” Tera says. “This has taught me that we need to … find people that we can help and serve because it’s helped our family.”

Tasha is still collecting cans and other recyclable items which can be viewed here. She will pick items up from residents in Pocatello to Rexburg. To coordinate pick-up times, contact Tera at (385) 314-0395.

Our attorneys tell us we need to put this disclaimer in stories involving fundraisers: EastIdahoNews.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries.

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