The Strathmore Fire Department (SFD) hosted a barbecue for the grade 11 and 7 class from Holy Cross Collegiate (HCC) to celebrate their record-breaking donation to the Wheatland County Foodbank. Combined, they raised more than 4600 pounds of food, with the firefighters contributing more than around 2500 pounds while HCC was around. Separately, those donations alone would have been the biggest donation ever.
The grade 11 and 7 classes were at the barbecue because they were the two highest-earning classes, and grade 11 student Gabriel Muller played a huge role in getting his class to the top. HCC measured their donation by items donated rather than size, and he singlehandedly donated 597 items of food. He said the main thing for him was donating to a good cause, but the friendly competitive spirit played a big role in his huge donation.
"The week the food drive started, my grade 11 English class was falling behind compared to other classes, so basically I just thought why not try to win it?" he said.
"The other grade 11 class made this whole bet saying they could beat us, and I was like 'nope not gonna happen.' So I went to three different stores and tried to buy as many items as I could."
Gabriel Muller donated close to 600 items to help his class win the contestOn top of paying out of his own pocket, he said around 50% of his donation was also made up of family members who all contributed whatever they could. Knowing his donation will help many families, as well as enjoying his class's win, made his effort all worth it.
"The fact that the food bank now has enough items until 2024 and this is the largest donation they've ever received (makes it all worth it)."
With the food drive being an incredible success, both the SFD and HCC plan on bringing this food drive back next year.
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Fri, May 26, 12:30 PM
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