The canned food drive hosted by STUCO took place from Nov. 13-20, with everything earned going to the Amarillo Children’s Home.
This drive consists of students and teachers donating cans and/or money and in addition the profits from the talent show, hour lunch and calculus shirts will help kids in need. The origin of this drive leads all the way back to the early 20th century and has continued since, as each year the profit margin increases.
Throughout the years, cans from this drive have helped the Amarillo Children’s Home provide food for children. With food provided for the children, Amarillo Children’s Home can help provide other things such as clothes, school supplies, toiletry and more for these kids.
“This canned food drive helps the Amarillo Children’s Home,” student council president Alya Baers said. “All the children who do not have enough food in our community are helped by this drive, and it truly does make a difference in so many ways. The Amarillo Children’s Home is able to provide for those children, and spend money on more food or whatever those kids need at that time.”
STUCO aimed for 20,000 cans and as expected they met the goal and even exceeded it by $21,000 in cans. To achieve this many cans from students were motivated through incentives and competition from other students.
“Competitiveness motivated me personally to get as many donations as I could, and teachers will give students incentives to participate as well,” Baers said.
The year talent show that took place on Nov. 20 also raised money for the canned food drive. It allowed students to have fun and see the talents of their fellow classmates while also helping the cause.
“The talent show brings in more money for this drive, as well as the hour lunch we always have,” Baers said. “Mrs. Trevathan, the calculus teacher and student council sponsor, sells calculus shirts to her students and that money goes to the drive.”
During the talent show, there were many acts including a band performance, a solo dance, two solo singings, a thank you speech from the Amarillo Children’s Home and a speech from an alumni. Overall, this show captured the audiences’ attention and entertained everyone.
“The talent show process begins about 2 weeks before the canned food drive starts,” Baers said. “We have auditions for all students who would like to participate, and then we pick about 6 acts for the show. It is always very successful and amazing to see what talent students have.”