The holidays are a time for love, family, celebration and, most importantly, food. However, many less fortunate families struggle to put food on the table with the added stress of the holidays. This is where the National Honor Society (NHS) steps in to give Staples students the opportunity to lend a hand with the annual Cans for Candlelight fundraiser.
Each year the NHS runs a food drive for local food banks through the school. It is asked that students bring in non-perishable, canned foods and thus is named Cans for Candlelight. The drive takes place at the front of the school from Dec. 9 to 13. Its purpose is “to organize a way for staples students to help others during the holiday season,” Robby Gershowitz ’14 said.
Each year a group of students volunteer to take on running the drive. The four volunteers this year are Katie Zhou ’14, Robby Gershowitz ’14, Ali Thompson ’14 and the chairman of the committee in charge of the event, Khaliq Sanda ’14. These four are in charge of “[helping] get the word out to newspapers and other publicity and just generally set a framework for the logistics of collecting cans,” Zhou said.
“It is perfect to have the last day of the food drive outside the auditorium because usually nothing gets people more in the mood to give than listening to holiday classics,” Thompson said.
Every little bit helps, especially during holiday season. With holiday joy comes holiday stress. “Each year at this time, food banks are in need of food to provide for those in need, and we are attempting to help as much as we can,” Sanda said.
Students are encouraged to spread holiday cheer and help a family in need. “I am really excited,” Thompson said. “The food drive is perfect to get the community into the holiday spirit of giving.”
