At Ozone, we love to teach the importance of service to one another. This November, we were able to put that lesson into practice on a huge, region wide scale!It’s no secret hunger and the need for quality food is a big issue no matter where you are. With so many in need of food during the holiday season, Ozone decided to coordinate a massive canned food drive in all four cities. Food was to be collected over a period of six weeks, to fill the shelves of food pantries all over Northwest Arkansas.
The first leg of our canned food drive took place during the month of October, as we asked students to bring canned food to weekly meetings. Ramen packages, green beans and boxes of scalloped potatoes began to accumulate as the weeks passed. It was wonderful to see students give, bringing can after can to staff members, without expecting anything in return but the satisfaction of filling a need.
October came to a close, but we still weren’t finished with our food drive!
On the first weekend of November, High School students joined together to canvas dozens of neighborhoods across the Northwest Arkansas region. Armed with brown paper sacks stapled to informative flyers, word of the food drive spread through neighborhoods in Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville.
The following weekend, Lifeline students (elementary age) joined with their parents and siblings to collect food from the canvassed neighborhoods. The students were able to learn about how to effectively communicate with adults, as they rang door bells, accompanied by parents, to pick up sacks of canned food. Although it was a frigid morning full of cold, red noses and desires for hot cups of cocoa, the elementary students did an incredible job staying positive finishing the drive started weeks earlier.
As soon as the final bags were placed in Ozone vans, the entire crew headed back to meeting points to weigh hundreds of bags and discuss the morning. Kids gazed in awe at just how much can be accomplished when we all join together for a great cause! Through the months of October and November, Ozone was collectively able to collect over 4000 lbs of nonperishable food! Check out some pictures of our great day collecting food with Lifeline!
