And that is
during holiday time, Thanksgiving in particular.
The XCP
community – students, faculty, staff, family and friends – recently set a
record for its annual canned food drive for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
in Phoenix.
From Oct.
23-Nov. 17, Xavier, with its National Honor Society leading the way, gathered
83,798 cans of food for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank. It shattered the
previous record of about 40,000, set in 2016.
According to
Tara Metzger, Xavier’s Assistant to the President and Principal and the NHS
moderator, a new wrinkle was added this year in the form of the acceptance of
monetary donations to help supplement the food collection.
For every
dollar brought in, the can count increased by two.
As the
result of the big effort, students will be allowed to wear sweat pants/jeans
(“sweans’’) on Tuesday (Nov. 21), similar to other school community-service projects.
So instead of a “Buck a Sweans,’’ the right to wear them will cost nothing as a
thank you for all of the food-collecting assistance.
Most of the
food was collected and placed in a “mini’’ storage unit in the parking lot near
the school’s entrance, to be picked up each week, Metzger said. About halfway
through this year’s drive, the money/can equivalent aspect was added.
“For some
people, it is more convenient to do it that way, so it worked out very well,’’
she said.
One family
donated $500, she added.
“We all get
pumped up about it,’’ Metzger said. “Students, faculty, staff . . . we all get
behind it.’’
Another way
to help would be to actually go down to St. Vincent de Paul, located a bit south
of downtown Phoenix, and volunteer to work for a few hours, as Metzger and
others from the school have done.
“It makes a
difference when you are actually there,’’ she said. “To see first-hand, all
that goes into it, means even more.’’
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