Students' food collection goes long way to help less-fortunate

PONTIAC -- Residents of Livingston County who may have gone without a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday received help from junior high school students in Pontiac.

Led by the eighth-grade class, the student council and Builders' Club, students and staff at Pontiac Junior High School collected more than 5,000 canned goods and collected enough money to buy eight complete turkey dinners.

Their goal was 1,500 items and a few turkey dinners, said teacher Brandon Fenton. Last year, the school had trouble raising just 1,200 items.

"I never thought we would have gotten so much," said seventh-grader Jayme Soule. "A lot of people will be able to have Thanksgiving now. I am thankful for what I have and that we were able to do this."

Fenton said the school has had a food drive in November for the last few years, but this year really wanted the students to think about helping others. The food was collected during a two-week period.

"The students are part of this community and they should be trying to help others," he said. "I just can't believe how much came in. I am really proud of our kids."

Some teachers and students at other schools in District 429 also helped with the drive.

Money raised during the drive was used to buy complete Thanksgiving dinners from a local store, which were distributed to people in need.

The food items were split between food pantries at First United Methodist Church and St. Vincent de Paul at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

"I hope that the people who get this food have a happy Thanksgiving," said eighth-grader Jake Heller. "This is going to help a huge amount of people."