Give back to the community

Findlay High School held a canned food drive during the month of November in conjunction with the Salvation Army. The canned food drive was organized by the Key Club. During the month of December, a coat drive will be held at the East Branch YMCA. Despite not being directly run through FCS, the district is still involved in promoting the drive. Volunteer opportunities are available on the Coats for Christmas website.

The canned food boxes were placed in classrooms throughout the school for students and staff to access them. Teachers were encouraged to speak to their students about the drive and encourage them to participate. The types of products accepted are those with a long shelf life such as packaged ramen, canned soups, and canned fruits or veggies.

“Every year, I try to donate more than just canned foods. I always try to donate some cereal boxes or ramen,” senior Mikayla Betts said.

During every food drive, there seems to be a competition. Whether it be through The Salvation Army and their deciding or between teachers. The rivalries are meant to encourage more students to donate.

“We applied a competitive game within teachers to encourage more cans and there was a winner decided in the end,” Key Club president Urmika Ghosh said.

The game this year was Ohio State vs Michigan for the infamous rivalry. The game was meant to encourage students to donate and put as many cans in the team box they prefer.

The teacher who collected the most cans was history teacher Mr. Barberree this year. He will soon receive his jersey.

Towards the end of November, the boxes of cans were taken back to the Salvation Army for them to distribute to families in need as well as food pantries in the community.

“We got about 1000 or more cans that were donated to Salvation Army,” Ghosh said.

Participating and donating during the canned food drive is an easy way to give back to the community.

The coat drive run through Coats for Christmas held at the East Branch YMCA is an annual event in Findlay that truly changes lives and helps out families.

Coats can be collected at different facilities throughout the community. Drop off locations include the Blanchard Valley Center, Findlay Village Mall, College First Church of God, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD. and the Marathon Center for Performing Arts. They can also be dropped off at the East Branch YMCA.

The coat drive shows how great it can be when the community works together and helps out other members who may be on a tight budget and unable to to afford a much needed winter coat.

“I know of people in the school who have gotten coats from the drive who were just going to go without one before getting it,” Betts explained.

Through both the canned food drive and coat drive, Findlay High School and the community can truly aid the lives of each other.