BY SABRINA WONG
Some of the characteristics that indicate the beginning of autumn are pumpkin-scented candles, apple picking, leaves changing colors and the smell of candy corn. However, for students and faculty at CCHS, one event that signals the start of every fall season is the annual Harvest Drive. This year, “Spread Kindness Through Harvest” is the theme for the project, and items are being collected from October 1 through November 7 in personalization classes.
The Harvest Drive is a program that circulates throughout all of Broward County. More than 180 private and public schools participate in the event yearly. Non-perishable items and toiletries are collected in boxes and are distributed to over 2,300 families in the area who are in need of the food and products.
These families are provided with a week’s worth of groceries, and they are given enough supplies to cook a complete Thanksgiving meal. Gently used clothing, shoes, toys, books and household items are also available free of charge for more than 500 of the families in crisis. Distribution of the boxes takes place at 14 Broward County middle and high schools.
Every year, endless hours of hard work are put into the Harvest Drive at CCHS. Key Club, the main club in charge of organizing the project, coordinates events and helps to get the word out about collecting the canned and boxed goods.
“It’s all worth it to know you’re helping to feed families on Thanksgiving.”
“We made posters at our last meeting that had all the information [about the Harvest Drive] to put around campus,” Key Club President Gabriela Carbone said. “We’re also passing out flyers in the morning and afternoon in the car loop area and we’re talking [about it] in personalization classes.”
Each study hall class received a box that will be used to hold all of the donated products. Students have the opportunity to participate in a box-decorating contest by working together with classmates to embellish the box following the theme. Once all of the boxes are submitted, the judges will choose a winner and that class will receive a doughnut party.
Key Club and Interact Club also hold all-day fundraisers outside of the Publix in the Countryside Shops plaza. A booth is set up by both the entrance and exit of the store, and the students who volunteer at this food drive try to get customers to donate any extra purchased cans or items on their way out. The Publix fundraiser was held on August 18 and 19, and more dates are being planned soon.
“[The Publix fundraisers] are full days of hard work but it’s all worth it to know you’re helping to feed families on Thanksgiving,” Carbone said.
After the final day of collecting products, Key Club dedicates an after-school meeting to help National Honor Society (NHS) along with a few other clubs sort all the items into correlating boxes. The donations are separated and placed with similar goods that would be found in the same category.
“I wouldn’t be able to complete these tasks without the dedication of my students and colleagues.”
“Last year, the meeting took over an hour and a half even with so many members helping out,” Key Club Membership Chair Leah Applebaum said. “It was a lot of work trying to figure out where each donated item belonged, but in the end, it was for a really great cause.”
After the boxes are completely packed, they are transported to Western High School, the distribution center for CCHS. At Western, the food is directly handed to the families in need.
“There are a lot of hours that go into this [the Harvest Drive],” Key Club sponsor Fallan Patterson said. “I recently spent my planning hour organizing the collection boxes for all our study hall teachers and ensuring their delivery. But I wouldn’t be able to complete these tasks without the dedication of my students and colleagues.”
Aside from Key Club, Best Buddies, Interact Club, Latinos in Action (LIA) and National Honor Society (NHS) are all also involved in collecting cans and contributing to the program.
The Harvest Drive at CCHS is an event as well as a part of a greater organization that requires many helping hands from multiple clubs and the entire student body. Through dedication and hard work, students and faculty can help the local communities who are struggling to provide for themselves and their families. This volunteer-driven program allows participants to return a sense of kindness to those in need.
Disclaimer: Key Club sponsor Fallan Patterson is also the adviser of The Lariat.
Photo by Kayla Florenco
