Two high schools, one long-lasting rivalry, and a local charity that needs their help. The challenge? To see which school could collect the most donations of non-perishable food items and cash for Cloverdale’s less fortunate.
This year, let’s just say Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School’s student council co-presidents are good sports (they agreed to visit the winning school and pose for photos wearing Clayton Heights Secondary School gear) and the big winner is the Cloverdale Christmas Hamper Program.
Clayton Heights won this year’s challenge, raising $856 in cash and collecting 9,015 items, with Lord Tweedsmuir raising $1,900 in cash, and collecting 3,500 donations.
“We’re so proud of our schools, because the students and teachers really pulled together this year, and were able to give back to Cloverdale much more than previous years,” said Hannah Hollander, co-student council president at LTS. “It’s great to see the positive impact we can have on our local community.”
Clayton Heights’ student council led the food drive at that school, where, according to Sarah Daintrey, teacher sponsor, the challenge with Lord Tweedsmuir has been running for five years.
“They came through this year, they really did,” added executive council member Emily Markwart.
Both schools have been busy with other community-minded efforts; for example, in addition to Tweedsmuir’s food drive, the school’s Girl’s Leadership group raised 2,400 in donated items for homeless shelter care packages.
Power of many
Not to be outdone, in November, LTS’s Power of One leadership group for boys in grades 9-12 served at a soup kitchen in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
At Harbour Light Soup Kitchen, they served food, washed dishes, collected plates, and scraped dishes.
“It was a fast-paced, hour and a half shift serving over 380 people,” said Alan Wu, student council co-president and Power of One member. “We got to see the streets of the Eastside, and talk to some of the people there,” he said. “It sure was an eye-opener and makes you look at life in a different perspective.”
Follow the Cloverdale Reporter on 
Twitter and 
Facebook. View our print edition online.