“It’s kind of sad that the students needed an incentive to bring cans, but at least it got them focused on doing an act of good will,” said ASB President Ed Kehoe, 17.
Teacher Barbara Barry said she uses Thanksgiving and holiday drives to emphasize the disparity between “haves” and “have-nots.”
“I think it’s important for the kids to understand that there are needs out there in the community,” Barry said. “I talk to them beforehand about what they have, and ask how much their video games, jeans, cell phones and Starbucks cost. Then I ask how much they think they can use to help others. I have a couple kids go buy the presents or groceries, and then they come back and show the class what they bought. It helps everyone feel like they’re part of the process.”
This week, students brought canned goods and other food products in Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s bags, grocery bags and banana cartons. They piled them up Friday, sorted by homeroom class.
Donated food products ranged from packages of organic brown rice pasta to tins of Spam.
The smallest class contribution was a lonely little Starbucks bag containing two cans of corn and a box of macaroni and cheese. The largest piles would have filled several SUV trunks, with hundreds of soup and vegetable cans and bulky cartons of Top Ramen.
Some students brought out food on a wheeled cart, which they thought would give their pile more prominence; they artfully re-stacked the products on it to make their piles appear taller.
After the smaller piles were taken away, three piles of similar dimensions remained. Helliwell asked the ASB students to take the products out of their bags and boxes for a clearer comparison.
