Danny Williams receives volunteer award
Pictured from left to right: Humboldt Fareway Assistant Manager Tiffany Bakken, Manager Jeremy Riesselman, Humboldt-Dakota City Kiwanis President Kerry Burmeister, Fareway employee and Kiwanis Club honoree Danny Williams, Earl and Kerri McAlexander of Rockwell City, Ronald McDonald House Volunteer and Outreach Program Coordinator Maggie Fuchs and Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis Division 2 Lieutenant Governor Mike Biedenfeld. Williams is pictured holding a plaque presented to him by the Kiwanis Club. It reads, “To Danny Williams for your dedicated and unselfish work over the years in raising funds for the children and families served by the Ronald McDonald House.” Humboldt Independent photo.
By KENT THOMPSON
In a time of the year that’s about giving and receiving, Humboldt’s Danny Williams was on the receiving end of praise and thanks for his contributions to the community and the families served by the Central Iowa Ronald McDonald Houses in Des Moines.
Williams has been collecting cans in his hometown of Humboldt since 1981. He has been a one-person environmental recycling stalwart, keeping the Humboldt County Fair-grounds and other areas of town free of recyclable aluminum beverage containers thanks to back-breaking work and his many bicycles.
In addition to recycling the cans, Danny has conscientiously removed the pop tabs from the containers and has saved them and turned them in to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald Houses. The weight of the pop tabs total in tonnage over the years, including 500 pounds of tabs in the past five years alone.
Williams was honored recently at a luncheon meeting of the Humboldt-Dakota City Kiwanis Club. He was a member of the Humboldt Kiwanis Aktion Club while it was active prior to 2020. Aktion Club is one of the service leader-ship activities of Kiwanis.
It is a club designed for adults with mental and physical special needs and allows them to be part of group that emphasizes fun socialization, leadership and community service, conducting activities that help families and children. One of the club’s activities was regularly picking up litter along the Cotton-wood Trail in Humboldt.
Ronald McDonald House Charities is celebrating its 50th year of existence. The mission is to provide a home away from home for families of children with serious medical needs that require extended stays at medical facilities. Since opening its doors in 1981, the Ronald McDonald House of Central Iowa has supported thousands of families from Iowa, the U.S. and worldwide.
Read the full story in this week's issue of the Humboldt Independent!
