Friendly Competition Brings in Record-Breaking Food Drive Donations

The annual Food Drive benefiting The Food Pantry of Indian River County wrapped up last week. Students across all three divisions brought in cans, bags and boxes of various food items to contribute to the high demand of food in the pantry. The director of the pantry, Mr. Scott Turner, instructed during our chapel announcements about the great need now in our county, which had a big impact on the student body and faculty to give. At the lunch hour, many students worked hard to carry boxes to and on the pantry trailer. Loading the donations was a herculean task, as it turned out to be an impressive 16,500 pounds of food! After the food was loaded and the door closed, Father Barrett blessed the food before it was taken to the pantry.

Additionally, all three divisions encouraged friendly competition to boost donations. The Upper School featured sterling performances from the homerooms of Ms. Baker, Mrs. Mohr, Mrs. Stalquist, Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Cooksey - all of whom earned relaxed dress days for their efforts. The Mitchell and Cooksey homerooms, in particular, engaged in a white-knuckle competition worthy of Election Day. After several fruitless recounts of many thousands of items, our auditors declared it a tie – the true winners are the citizens of Indian River County in need of food this holiday season. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this important outreach!