Covid-19 has taken away many school experiences, but it will never take away the teamwork and leadership in the Spartan community. Students from the student council, E-Board, ROTC and the Environmental Student Alliance came together on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Thanksgiving Food Drive, where they collected canned goods for the less fortunate. The idea for the drive came from Barnes, who serves as president of the Environmental Student Alliance. With the nearing holiday season, Barnes decided it was the perfect time to set up a food drive and sought help from her friends on the student council and EBoard, as well as from members of her environmental club.

“I contacted a friend William Smith (12) because I knew that he has an Instagram for volunteering,” Barnes said. “I talked to a couple of other people that could really help the momentum and contacted Mrs. Holland as well as the Food Bank to set it all up.”

Then, the ROTC got involved due to ROTC planner Alexandra Shirley (10). Because the drive needed extra help, she thought it would be a good opportunity to include her fellow ROTC members.

“I thought, ‘Why don’t we kinda make this drive together to boost participation?’” Shirley said. “I planned it for the ROTC portion, and then we distributed our stuff on Saturday.” 

Despite the extra assistance from student organizations, the drive still hit a few bumps along the way.

“Challenges were Covid had to limit volunteers; social media was an obstacle.” Barnes said. “Also communication and making sure Holland knows the details and gaining her trust on that.” 

The successful aspects of the drive include the amount of participation,  commitment from volunteers and good measures of safety. 

“I always brag on my environmental members, like they are so good and show up,” Barnes said.

In the end, over thirty people donated, and the amount of food received exceeded all expectations. As more of these drives will continue throughout the year,  E-Board sophomore commissioner, Harini Gopi (10), wants students to know that every donation, big or small, goes a long way. 

“It is really important to show up to future things like this,” Gopi said. “My message to the other students is to please participate if you can in these types of drives and donations.”