Jean Collop, 67, of Sacramento, "The Can Lady," volunteers as a fundraiser for the Agency for Hearing in Sacramento. Since 1999, Collop has tirelessly gathered aluminum cans for recycling, donating the proceeds to the agency for upkeep and future purchases of vans that travel throughout Northern California providing hearing tests and assistance for people of all ages.

Collop is also an active member of Self Help for the Hard of Hearing. She began volunteering at the Agency for Hearing in 1996 and has personally raised more than $7,830 for the agency from recycling cans.

How often do you go out on your can-collecting rounds?
It's an ongoing thing. I have 17 places to pick up cans and I could go out every day if I wanted to. Some stops, it's every two weeks. And this one gal calls me and says she has a lot of beer cans. It's horrible to get them because the car smells like a brewery, but they bring in the money! I still get a dollar a pound, but I won't say where I get them all!

How did you become "The Can Lady?"
Because there was no money being put aside for new vans, and our vans were on their last legs, though we have a new one now. Being a non-profit organization, there was never enough money to put away for vans. So, I said, "OK, I'll do it myself."

Where did your initial motivation come from?
I realized I was hard of hearing when I was in the sixth grade. That's why I think this program is so important. Kids don't know what they don't hear, so they don't think anything is wrong with them. The tones you might miss, the sounds you miss. They miss out on a heck of a lot and I know from experience.

Are other individuals or groups helping you with this project?
There are some civic organizations that earmark their cans for The Can Lady. And we had a fourth-grade class project for the Cirby School in Roseville. They saved cans for me and it was a lot of fun to go out there and talk to them. They really brought the cans in, but I don't know if their parents were too happy!

Has the cost of gas affected your efforts?
I have to plan my route, and plan what I'm doing, because it's pretty expensive.

What's the most unusual experience you've had while collecting cans?
My attorney collects cans for me, even at the courthouse! I can't believe she collects cans for me. I used to work for them. And there was the time I had millions of ants on my patio from a batch of cans. Out at the fair, you'd be surprised how many cans we dug out of cars and out of the back end of pickups.

I went up to Seattle one year for the SHHH [Self-Help for the Hard of Hearing] conference. I have family up there because I'm from Seattle. I get up there and my nephew says, "C'mon over here Auntie Jean, I want to show you something."

He opens up the flower house and it's just loaded with cans! I crushed every one of those cans, then I e-mailed everybody here in California to see if I couldn't find someone to take the cans. They were only paying something like 20 cents a pound there. Luckily, Jim Montgomery, the president of the SHHH, had a truck up there and he brought them back for me.

What is the most satisfying aspect of volunteering at the Agency for Hearing?
Raising the money, and eventually we're going to get another van. It's most satisfying to know that the vans go out to the school and do the hearing tests for the kids. That's what it's all about. We have the funds now to help more than we ever did before.

What do you do with you spare time when you're not collecting cans?
I crush them! I bring them home and I have a can crusher that I use. I don't even have my hearing aid on when I'm doing it. It gives your ear a rest.

Susan Roberts, Agency for Hearing fund developer (and Collop's daughter), says:
Having her out there doing this helps when we write grant requests. It helped when we received a grant for the first new van last year.

She's a real strong advocate for hard-of-hearing people. She comes to our Living with Hearing Loss class, sits there, and by the end of the class she's encouraging people to advocate for themselves and tells about her own personal experience.

So, for anything and everything to do with hard-of-hearing advocacy, she's out there.