St. Charles College students recently presented the Sudbury Food Bank with 121,000 non-perishable food items, along with a cheque for $21,000.
The students had originally set out to collect 60,000 items for the food bank.
Jim Szilva, a graduate of the high school, continued with his yearly tradition of remaining on a Greater Sudbury transit bus for an entire week until the students achieved their goal.
The bus made stops at St. Andrew, St. Bernadette, Pius XII, St. Raphael, St. John, St. Paul and St. David Catholic Elementary schools. Students there traditionally join the cause and collect in their respective neighbourhoods.
"Seeing our students succeeding and doing well academically inspires me, but there is nothing more uplifting than watching the students at St. Charles College pull an entire community together by collecting one can at a time,” St. Charles principal Patty Mardero said.
The students also worked at many of the local grocery store chains, bagging groceries, in exchange for cans or monetary donations.
Buses were also sent out every night of the week for students to reach out to every part of the community and canvass the area.
The secondary school has been taking part in a community food drive since the mid-1980s.
The food drive brings in upwards of 100,000 items for the local food bank each year.
Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen
