Gracie Arbogast is the latest recipient of a donation created one nickel at a time by Newtown resident Betty Presnell.

Arborgast is the namesake of Team Gracie, a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walkathon team that hopes to increase its fundraising level to $1,000 this year. Thanks to a $500 donation from Presnell on March 30, the team has already reached its halfway mark.

Presnell has made donations in recent months to FAITH Food Pantry, and Nunnawauk Meadows Residents Association, among others. She has been doing so after collecting and then redeeming returnable bottles and cans.

The effort began last spring after Presnell, the current president of Nunnawauk Meadows Residents Association, saw a need to raise funds for that organization after its annual fundraiser was canceled.

Presnell put out a call for donations of returnable bottles and cans through social media, and the response has been steady. She will continue to collect, redeem, and make donations, “for as long as people want to give,” she told The Newtown Bee earlier this year.

Donations are accepted at her home, 1D Nunnawauk Meadows, 3 Nunnawauk Road. Returnable bottles and cans should be clean and rinsed, and can be left near her door.