Williamsville East
Leadership class gets student body to donate to food shelters
by JILL SCHMELZER Reporter

Sorting canned goods Friday at Temple Beth Am are Taylor, left, and Morgan Friedman and Meredith Sparks. The drive was coordinated between members of North Presbyterian Church and Temple Beth Am and students at Williamsville East High School. Photo by John Rusac

The Williamsville East High School Youth Leadership Development class has teamed up with Temple Beth Am and North Presbyterian Church to help less fortunate families in the area have a Thanksgiving meal.

Since Nov. 6, students in the class have collected canned goods from members of the student body, who are competing for cash prizes.

"By helping out the less fortunate, you realize a lot of people take this holiday for granted," said sophomore Christianna Chiavetta. "We get to help others have a better holiday."

The classmates have collected cans from each grade. The freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and members of the school band compete for first place, which is $100 toward their class treasury.

To achieve first place, the winner must bring in at least 1,000 cans. Second place, which is a $50 cash prize, must contribute 750 cans and third place will receive food during that class's next Steering Committee meeting. In order to win third place, the class or organization has to donate at least 500 items to the food bank.

"Once everyone heard about the drive they wanted to help out," said freshman Christopher Rizzo, noting that many students set a goal of bringing in at least five cans for the contest.

Temple Beth Am and North Presbyterian Church will donate Thanksgiving meals to nearly 500 families in Western New York. The baskets will be sorted and given to 16 area nonprofit organizations.

Each basket contains a frozen turkey, stuffing mix, potatoes, dried or canned soup, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, a beverage, bread or rolls and a dessert.

Temple Beth Am picked up nearly 1,000 cans from Williamsville East High School Friday morning. The food collected this past Friday has been donated to the Western New York Food Bank.

All 17 students in the class had a role that taught them responsibility and organization.

To keep track of how much was donated, a wall in the main hallway was used to tally the amount of cans brought in each day. Members of the leadership class had a goal to collect 2,000 cans by today, Nov. 22.

Signs with statements such as "Don't be greedy, give to the needy," lined the walls of the high school. The leadership class also worked in collaboration with the East Amherst Rotary Club, donating food and services to local organizations.

Sharon Vicchio, the leadership teacher, said the class teaches organization and planning, community service, team leadership and responsibility.

The elective helps students build a positive character, said Vicchio, who has been teaching the course for the past 10 years.

"We learn to come together and use teamwork," said sophomore Ashley Vertino.

The total number of cans collected was not known at press time.

e-mail: JSchmelzer@beenews.com