“We want to say thank you to the learners, teachers and parents for their massive effort, and are looking forward to working with the school again in the future,” said Joe Heckler from the Florida 21 Round Table.
They recently donated approximately 500 files to Lantern School, which, in turn, organised a charity drive and collected non-perishable foods to donate to the Round Table.
Marelizé Heckler, a teacher at the school, organised the drive. “We informed the learners and their parents that we were planning to do a charity drive to collect tinned goods for the Round Table. We named this initiative ‘Collect-A-Tin’, and set aside one day on which the learners could bring all their tinned goods to the school,” she said.
The collection day was made even more special for the learners, as they were allowed to wear civvies, in exchange for bringing a food item. “The response from our parents and learners was exceptional, and we were able to donate at least 30 plastic bags filled to the brim,” she said.
Joe echoed her sentiments and said, “When we do something like this initiative at schools, we never expect a certain quantity to be collected, but the learners at Lantern exceeded our expectations. We usually do assessments at homes where we know the need is great, and, although we are not able to help the family indefinitely, we are able to donate items to help them out in the short term. With the food we received here today, we will be able to help at least 15 families in need.”
He added that it is always amazing to see how a school comes together and pulls off something like this. “It is heartwarming to know that there are still caring people in our communities who do not shy away from lending a helping hand,” he concluded.
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