On the final day of the canned food drive, students help load the boxes of donated food onto carts headed to Second Harvest’s warehouse. Over 25,000 pounds of food was donated which will be converted into 20,000 meals for families in South Louisiana.
No challenge is too big or too small for a Dominican girl. No matter what it may be, students are ready to conquer any goal that is set for them. The annual canned food drive, however, brought out the inner competitor in everyone in the Dominican community, and DHS proved that there really is no “I” in team.
On Feb. 28, Campus Minister Ms. Claire Gallagher announced the impressive achievements of the 2018 Canned Food Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank. Cheers rang throughout the halls when students and faculty learned they had surpassed DHS’s challenging goal of 21,000 cans – and by a lot. The grand total came in at 30,352 cans – a record for Dominican.
“I got really involved in the canned food drive this year thanks to the motivation from [my religion teacher] Ms. Delgado,” said senior Bridget Adam. “Over the two-week course of the canned food drive, I made it my priority to buy and collect as many cans as possible.”
In past years, Dominican has used one to two trucks to pack the food for Second Harvest. This year’s drive yielded the use of three trucks, illustrating the largest donation from DHS.
The food donations are vital to those community members in need. One in five households in Louisiana is at risk of hunger. Come springtime, Dominican donates food to Second Harvest to ensure that families all over South Louisiana are fed. With Dominican as its largest school contributor, the non-profit food bank is ready to tackle hunger this summer with an additional 30,000 cans to distribute.
Every year, DHS students wait anxiously for the faculty to reveal the theme for the annual Canned Food Drive. At the Justice Awareness Mass on Feb. 20, students enjoyed watching their teachers dance and sing to “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Disney’s Trolls, kicking off the canned food drive and its friendly competition.
Dressed as “Grandma Rosiepuff” from Disney’s Trolls, religion teacher Ms. Aline Delgado and senior Sabrina Nguyen pack donated food into boxes for Second Harvest during Dominican’s Canned Food Drive in February. “The students’ response to the canned food drive was beyond anything I could have ever envisioned,” said Ms. Delgado. “I am so proud of the school for making this canned food drive a personal best for Dominican.”
“I feel like the music video fostered awareness for the canned food drive and built up our community at Dominican,” said Ms. Gallagher. “It shows the school that community outreach is not only rewarding, but can also be fun.”
The competition is not the only thing that drives students to give so generously. Each religion teacher motivates students to raise awareness for the canned food drive in hopes of donating the most cans.
Senior religion teacher Ms. Aline Delgado believes that if she can touch her students’ hearts, God does the rest.
“I try to make it real and personalize it and once it becomes contagious, I can step back and watch it flourish,” said Ms. Delgado. “As a teacher, you have to make it real.”
Due to the outstanding effort of the Dominican community, approximately 25,000 pounds of canned and boxed food was raised, which will produce over 20,000 meals.
“The outcome of this year’s canned food drive was another great reminder of our dedicated community at DHS,” said Ms. Gallagher. “No matter what we ask of the school, we always get an overwhelming response which is extremely inspiring.”
- Claire Dinwiddie