Kelly Cline, contributor
After two busy weeks of campaigning, classroom competitions and can collecting, Saunders Canned Food Drive has come to an end. Our sabres were able to collect an equivalent of 32,000 cans for the London Food Bank. “Great work Sabres.”
Ms. Wilton, one of the lead staff members behind the canned food drive says, “We are so thrilled with what we've seen this year. The outpouring support has been amazing, we've had an incredible amount of people bring in what we really needed, diapers, feminine hygiene products, baby formula and in addition to that money and cans. We've been amazed by the great things we've received this year.”
Ms. Wilton and Ms. Faulkner both share why they believed that it is important that Saunders continues the tradition of our yearly food drive. Ms. Wilton says, “I think, in any situation, giving back to your community is really important and so here at Saunders, we have a wonderful community. But if we can give back to the larger community. We have students and staff at our own school who would make use of the food bank. We have students and staff who volunteer at the food bank. We have students and staff who want to give to the food bank. So I think that when we can encompass all of that together it really shows that as a school we can come together and support a larger need in our community. And since covid, we've had a lot of people who have lost their jobs, we have a lot of people who rely on the food bank, so even more important now, since there's such a need.”
Ms. Faulkner says, “Why I think that food drive is important on top of building bridges in the community and helping fellow Londoners is that not every student and staff member is able to take on a load of being a part of something whether it's a team or a club and that. So it's another way for someone to be involved in being a member of our Saunders family. I think that we don't get the best media coverage and there are a lot of really great things that go on here. I think of all the campaigns that we can be part of and this one here touches a lot of our staff and students and that so, I love it”
Ms. Wilton says, “We have a great community of students who are helping us out, students that came canvassing with us one night, they gave up their evening, they went door to door in the freezing cold, and this morning we had about seven or eight students out at seven this morning for Pay to Park, standing out there just filled with enthusiasm and excitement for the cause so there’s a great turnout from students, staff and community”
Thank you to all the students, staff and community members who participated in our Canned Food Drive.