Youngest Pupils Lead the Way: Results of WPS Elementary Schools' 100th Day of School Donation Drive for Westwood Food Pantry

Kindergarteners emerged as leaders of the 100th Day of School Donation Drive that was held in February at the elementary schools of Westwood Public Schools, according to an announcement by Westwood Food Pantry this week.

 Sheehan School kindergarteners added 695 toothbrushes to the food pantry’s supplies, coming out on top of all grades at all four WPS elementary schools. Kindergarteners at Downey and Pine Hill schools also led their older peers in donations. At WPS's fourth elementary school, Martha Jones fourth graders collected more than other grades on campus.

To add fun and motivation to the 100th Day of School Donation Drive, organizers planned a competition, challenging each grade on the individual campuses to be the most successful in their school in raising donations for the food pantry. Winning grades would be rewarded with a prize, to be decided by organizers at each individual school. At three of four elementary schools, the winners were their youngest pupils.

Westwood Food Pantry board member Stacie Reiser says that the collection bins at the schools were quickly filled, followed by a second batch of bins. She estimates a total of 50 large bins have been collected.

Photo courtesy of Stacie Reiser. Donations from the 100th Day of School Donation Drive are replenishing the shelves at Westwood Food Pantry.

The collection came at a critical time in winter and has helped to bridge the gap until the pantry is restocked for summer, says Ms. Reiser. The food pantry will depend on the help of the upcoming Eddie’s Food Drive in April for summer supplies, she says.

Key parties who contributed to the 100th Day of School Donation Drive included the student councils at each school. Additionally, staff coordinators at each school were Eileen Erwin at Sheehan, Katherine Fader at Martha Jones, Jenny Abdou at Pine Hill, and Matt Tirrell at Downey. Westwood High School alum Charlie Doherty spent a day picking up all of the donations from all of the schools and delivered the donations to the food pantry.

Will there be another 100th Day of School Donation Drive next year? Ms. Reiser states, “We hope so! We truly enjoyed partnering with the elementary schools and hope they enjoyed the experience as well. . . . The amount of generosity in Westwood is heart-warming. We are grateful.”

Thanks to Stacie Reiser and Westwood Food Pantry for sharing this news with Westwood Minute.

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