WSMV Channel 4 14-year-old worries bottle cap drive to help sick kids is a hoax

14-year-old worries bottle cap drive to help sick kids is a hoax

Peyton White, 14, of Shelbyville says he couldn't be more proud of his fellow classmates for standing together to help sick children. Now that he's heard his effort could have been inspired by a scam or urban legend, he wonders what will become of his hard work.

"I was kind of disappointed this could be a scam just because somebody would say something like that could help somebody, and it might not be real," said White.

According to White, his effort started when someone spoke at his church, claiming there was a program that gave children free chemotherapy treatment in exchange for a thousand bottle caps.

"I wanted to help a child in need," said White. "It's not about all the recognition I got for it. It's about helping that child."

White spearheaded an effort at Shelbyville Central High, where he said 50,000 caps were eventually collected. Meanwhile, White said 100,000 caps were brought into Farmington Baptist Church. Then came the disappointing news: there didn't appear to be a program that connected chemo treatment and bottle caps.

"Word is, it was a scam," said Shelbyville Central High School teacher Martha Nixon. "That's so disappointing that we got so involved with so many people, and that's just hurtful that someone would do that."

White hasn't given up. He said someone had picked up the bottle caps at his church, he just doesn't know who. Now, he's hoping those caps go to someone who's in need.  

"As I told Peyton, our heart was in the right place," said Nixon. "We did that for something good, and we did nothing wrong. We can be proud that our goal was to help someone."

"I'm very ecstatic and proud they collected this many bottle caps," added White. "It's pretty awesome."

Nixon said she also got her sister's Grundy County school, Pelham Elementary, involved in the bottle cap collection. Nixon said she hopes someone hears Peyton's story and knows a positive way to use those bottle caps.