Food drives at School District 43 schools are heating up this week, with local firefighters expected to pick up the collections today (Friday) for sorting and packing.
Share Family and Community Services needs about 10,000 of every food item to fill holiday hampers for 1,800 families as well as to stock shelves for the rest of the winter.
Schools are an integral part of the food drive and every year students collect thousands of kilograms of food. Also this year, schools are collecting toys, making connections with local homeless people and hosting special dinners for the community.
Here's a list of what some of the schools are doing to collect food and make Christmas special for the less fortunate this holiday season:
Heritage Mountain elementary school in Port Moody held the Seven Days of Giving, which concluded Thursday, highlighting specific needs for each day of the week. Among the items collected for hampers were breakfast items, baby needs, lunch and dinner items, dessert items, household items and condiments.
Westwood elementary school in Port Coquitlam is holding a Christmas food drive and teachers have been setting up bins in their classrooms.
Dr. Charles Best secondary in Coquitlam has started an Adopt-a-Senior program and students have sponsored 100 senior citizens by buying them gifts off their Christmas wish lists.
Kids at Coquitlam River and Heritage Mountain elementary schools, in Coquitlam and Port Moody respectively, have made Christmas cards and students at Best are helping disadvantaged people in the Tri-Cities and the Downtown Eastside connect with their families. So far, 174 families have been sent messages since the Project HELLO (Helping Everyone Locate Loved Ones) started three years ago.
The Global Issues Club at Coquitlam's Gleneagle secondary is once again collecting food for Share as well as toiletries and clothing for homeless people living in the Tri-Cities.
PoCo's Riverside secondary hosted its annual community Christmas dinner Wednesday, serving with a full holiday meal to local seniors.
And at Moody middle, six classes are sponsoring families with donations of food and gifts, 21 classes are collecting for the Share food bank, and the band and choir have collected food donations as admission to their Christmas concert.
