SGA holds a canned-food drive during materials return event

Freshman Lindsey Jonas and Juniors Emily Jonas and Mary Bailey drop off canned food while picking up school supplies for the new semester.

by Alexis Rich, Guest Reporter
February 9, 2021

Like other pandemic activities, returning books and materials isn’t easy during an all-virtual first semester. But when giving is part of the process, and helping out the community by bringing bags of canned foods, there is no better way the drop-off could have gone. 

On January 25 and, postponed due to bad weather, January 27, Lancers came back to the school in a long parade of cars snaking around the building to drop off their books, drawing materials, and calculators from the first semester, as well as bring canned foods for SGA’s Canned-Food-Drive. 

There was a wide variety of time slots students could have come to part with the materials they no longer needed for Semester 2. Lancers with the last names from A-L went on Monday while the remaining M-Z went on Wednesday. 

Freshman Lindsay Jonas said, “It is great that our school can come together and help out the community while at the same time, we are returning our books.”

Students came through the front doors where tables were set up for the books, and buckets to donate the foods. When the tables and buckets were filled to the brim, staff then came into the hallway to collect the things that had been returned to make space for the more incoming supplies. 

Buckets and bins are filled to the brim with canned food as students are eager to donate during these unprecedented times.

Freshman Madison Madariaga’s mother, Alisa Madariaga, said, “This was such a great idea,”

Principal Cindy Hanlon held the doors for people, smiled, and braved the cold. 

As a contributing factor to the drop-off, the SGA held a Canned-Food Drive, which collected more than 500 food items that will be donated to St. Peter’s Church in Libertytown and the Net Food Pantry in Mount Airy. This food drive has also occurred in previous years but this year was run by Matthew Coffey, Junior Class President.

Coffey said, “this year in COVID-19 times the SGA team agreed it was important to help as many people as possible.”  He also adds, “These food pantries are available to anyone in the community who needs food.”

The Food Drive will continue until February 12.

The materials sat in place for the required time before being opened and returned to shelves.  Students picked up materials for Semester 2 during the week of February 7.