Students and staff ended 2019 with a mission to continue feeding local families. Harvest Drive is a charity foundation to help feed families for Thanksgiving where students and local residents raised money and donate non-perishable food items to aid struggling families this holiday season. 

“Harvest Drive is an organization that has been around since 1992 and they are involved in feeding hungry families in our community. They get people to contribute either money or goods twice a year,” sponsor Michael Levinson said. 

In all, 475 students volunteered for the Harvest Drive. 

“It [teaches students] to be giving and to be thoughtful of others,” junior Alaya Ellis Grind said.

Prior to the actual drive, students sorted out all of the cans and other donations in the portables in categories to organize so the Super Committee could pack them for the families, known as portable days.

“We collect donations from classes or from people that donate to the schools and we bring it to the portable where the Harvest Drive team sorts them into sections.This year, Western High really wanted to have a big goal to [feed 480 families],” senior Ryan Keller said.

This event went on every day after school from Oct. 15 to Nov. 14.

Every year a Super Committee team is put together to aid the strenuous process of putting together the Harvest Drive. 

“I was one of the coordinators [for Harvest Drive] and I would coordinate the student volunteers to make sure we had sufficient helpers to disseminate to needy families,” Levinson said.

Junior Emma Gelch is the Student Government Association chair of the Harvest Drive.

“Someone needed to step up for this year so I decided to and I really think it’s a good cause,” Gelch said. 

During the Harvest Drive there were mini events that were taken to get people excited to help out with the charity.

“[My favorite event was] face painting and Turkey Day,” Gelch said.

Participating in Harvest Drive helps bring students come together and set a good example for the future to make a difference.

“I think it is important for the younger generation to get involved because I think it sets an example for even the younger generations,” junior Riley Alvero said.

The spring Harvest Drive will take place on April 8.