Local food pantries will be able to continue serving needy families thanks to the generosity of Garland ISD students and staff.
They donated 96,737 items during the annual Garland Christmas Association canned food drive. This year’s donations will benefit the Salvation Army and Good Samaritans in Garland, as well as Operation Rowlett Reindeer and the Crossroads House Food Pantry in Sachse.
Responsible for 1,532 items, Liberty Grove Elementary School’s newly formed Student Council led the campus campaign. Fourth and fifth-grade members made posters to hang up around the school, encouraged participation with morning announcements and spent their recess time counting all the cans each grade level brought in to donate. In the end, Liberty Grove collected 2.47 items per student—an amount higher than many other GISD elementary schools.
Top totals from the district-wide campaign were recognized during the Dec. 9 board meeting. Principals from Hickman Elementary School, the Classical Center at Brandenburg Middle School and the Alternative Education Center received plaques and Evidence of Excellence awards to commemorate their efforts.
This is the second and fourth-consecutive honor for Brandenburg and Hickman.
“The Salvation Army helps thousands of people throughout the year, and one of the ways we do that is to give out food,” said a representative from the organization. “Most of those canned goods come from this food drive. It’s going to last probably the good part of next year. Thank you very much.”
GISD’s donations total 2,523,420 items during 25 years of participation in the food drive.
Photos courtesy of Liberty Grove Elementary.