Grade 12s clear out local Walmart of Mr. Noodles to win food challenge
FALL RIVER: Students at Lockview High School showed their compassion for those less fortunate in their community recently.
While it was initially going to be just the 02 class that Sarah MacDonald-Miles is a student in collecting stove top for the Lions Christmas Express, it quickly spread like wildfire into a school-wide event which saw a food challenge organized.
That resulted in four vehicles filled of food collected by all the students at the Fall River-based school. It was picked up and then delivered Dec. 17 to the LWF Hall by Lions Christmas Express volunteers Barry Dalrymple and Pat Healey, as well as LHS Vice Principal in his truck and Sarah and her mom Vivian in their vehicle.
MacDonald-Miles, who runs Links of Love, commented on the amount of food she saw before her, placed on tables in the top section of the LWF Hall where wings takeout is passed by Lions volunteers to customers that have ordered.
“I can’t believe there was this much food collected at the school,” said MacDonald-Miles as she surveyed the amount of food before her. “I figured they would only get a few cans here or there. I guess when you put a competition to it, teachers get competitive, students get competitive, and this is the result.
“I’m really excited we could help out and I hope we can do it again next year.”
She thanked all the students for collecting the food donations to give to the Lions Christmas Express.
Due to COVID19 restrictions, the Christmas Express was not expecting to pack and do up food hamper boxes as they could not have food drives. The Christmas Parade where the non-profit organization usually garners a fair amount of food donations was cancelled and the regular food drives the Christmas Express holds at local schools were cancelled as well.
However, at LHS they held the food challenge, and it was a success. Part of the food challenge saw Walmart in Bedford Common become sold out of Mr. Noodles as classrooms battled for every available point in their competition amongst students.
In the end, out of all the classes it was the Grade 12s picking up top spot.
On top of the food, students collected $500 and donated that to the Xmas Express as well. The school had rpeviously donated $2,000.
MacDonald-Miles was hopeful the food collecting would give those on the receiving end a warm belly and full heart.
“I’m amazed at how much food was collected. I only expected a couple boxes, like I said, but every class donated,” she said. “I’m just so happy at how well it turned out.
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It certainly left the Christmas Express volunteers wowed.
“This is amazing that they got all of this food,” said Stephanie Dube on the night of Dec. 17. “This is just fantastic.”
MacDonald-Miles thought it was an important lesson for her fellow Lockview students.
“There are students at the school who need the help but definitely don’t show it, so it was good that other students helped out families and other students in the area,” she said.
