The annual Thanksgiving Food Drive wrapped up the Friday before Thanksgiving Break with a large total of nonperishable items donated by the classes of Vallivue High School. In addition to this, members of the National Honor Society spent $1,200 at Walmart buying perishable items to donate as well. 940 of these dollars were donated by people in the Vallivue community, whether it be staff, students or parents. The rest of the money came out of the NHS budget. $200 was used just for turkeys to donate for Thanksgiving meals. More important than what was donated, however, is where the food items went.

On the last Friday of the food drive, after all of the items had been collected from the classrooms, and the donated money had been spent, members of National Honor Society delivered the food to the Hope House and three Vallivue families in need. Hope House is an organization in Marsing, run by Donnalee Velvick-Lowry, that takes in children from unsuccessful adoptions and gives them a safe and caring home. They run off of donations such as the food drive to provide for their community. The three families donated to were from larger households in need, each of six, eight, or 10 people. They were given food boxes with the essentials of a Thanksgiving meal as well as enough food to last them for 3-4 more weeks.

For those who delivered the food, the experience was extremely eye-opening. Kenzie McDermott, a teacher at Vallivue High School and one of the NHS advisors, said that over the years that this food drive has been happening, it has made her “more aware of what it means to give back to this community.”

Similarly, junior NHS member Liliana Valdez who helped deliver the food, described the experience as making her feel like she was “…actually making a difference and not just sending the food somewhere into the unknown.” She also said that from the experience, she learned that “…anything you can give can help people out, no matter what it is.”

Upon delivering the food, the National Honor Society was thanked on behalf of the school, as the donations truly made a difference in the lives of many children and families.