What better to feed the volunteer spirit this holiday season than a little friendly competition? MHS Key Club has taken this idea to heart over the past few weeks by holding a competitive food drive, in order to help Interfaith Food Pantry serve the 40,735 hungry families in Morris County. Teachers collected canned goods from each of their class periods to see who could come up with the most. The promise that motivated students was a reward of some sort, in the form of a extra credit, a homework pass, or simply glory to the winning class. The prevailing teacher would also be recognized with a special announcement, and the winning department with an exclusive breakfast. Madison came together through this competition to help end hunger, and the results were truly astounding.

Teachers began to announce the competitive collection towards the beginning of November. They urged students to donate, as every can would both feed a family in need, and feed the teacher’s own ego through victory. Amidst busy school work, and with the holiday season seeming far in the distance, cans only trickled in for the first few weeks. However, the teachers were persistent, reminding students every day of the drive and enticing them with the rewards associated with donation. By the last week of November, the spark was finally lit. Cans poured into the collection boxes, and as classes witnessed higher and higher piles from other periods, they in turn were inclined to donate more. On collection day, the food was so plentiful that it was far too heavy to carry, and had to be wheeled in large carts to the Key Club office.

After a long lunch period of counting, Key Club discovered that 639 cans and boxes of food had been donated by generous students throughout the school. This is enough to have a significant impact on the lives of many of the hungry families all over our community. The math department came away victorious in terms of number of items collected, contributing over 400 cans to the drive, yet Mrs. Rawding gathered the most items of any single teacher, with an astounding 162. As food donors were rewarded with both coveted prizes, and the feeling of making a positive difference in the community, MHS Key Club was able to spread a little warmth into the hearts of those in need with the cold winter months approaching.