Students and staff celebrate holidays with food drive, spirit week

Ty Tilden
Staff Writer

The Leadership class and Key Club teamed up with the Sandy Kiwanis to bring an elaborate and competitive canned food drive this holiday season. The drive supports local families in need, with an element of healthy competition amongst advisory classes.

The donations assembled by advisory classes have led to the creation of 250 food boxes that will be handed out families in need. SHS was able to raise nearly 5,000 pounds of food and $2,658.87. The food was sorted into the food boxes and the money will be directed to the Kiwanis.

History teacher Julie Frederick, who has contributed personal funds to the food drive, feels that contributing to this cause is incredibly important. “If providing food to help meet someone’s basic needs is possible, I am all about it.  A little act of kindness can go a long way,” Frederick said.

For Frederick, not only is this cause about kindness, but it is also deeply personal. “I am paying it forward. My mother had rough times after she and my father divorced in the early 1970’s. If it was not for some very generous people, my mother would have lost what little she had to her name. To me it is my everyday food; to someone else it might be gold,” Frederick said.

Freshman Key Club member Charlie Bloomer described the immense logistical task of filling the baskets. “There was an abundance of food. We organized them into groups (beans, fruit, vegetables, miscellaneous, etc.) and then put it into lots of cardboard boxes,” Bloomer said. 

As for the advisory competition, Agriculture teacher Trisha Smith’s class took the prize for freshmen, Special Education teacher Ryan Cauch won among sophomores, Journalism teacher J.D. McIntire emerged victorious over juniors, and English teacher Cherie Shields took first for seniors. Each class has earned a pizza party for their efforts.

Leadership also organized a door decorating contest and many advisory classes put together elaborate displays. The judges handed out three awards. English teacher Cari Swoboda’s class won Most Festive, social studies teacher Julie Frederick’s advisory won Most Creative and English teacher Tara Finnegan’s class was named Santa’s Favorite.