Lansing Charter Academy Holds Gratitude-focused Food Drive to Donate to Community

During a month dedicated to giving thanks and giving back, students at Lansing Charter Academy have been hard at work collecting non-perishable food items to donate to those in need throughout their community.

Students from all grade levels were encouraged to bring in items to benefit organizations in the Greater Lansing area that serve individuals who are in need, through the school’s annual food drive. In alignment with the Moral Focus virtue of the month, gratitude, students were instructed to bring in canned goods and pantry items from Nov. 8-22.

Reflecting on the holiday season, Principal Perkins shared the following mantra that she feels impacts her students at this time of the year. “Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me, great teachers affect eternity; they can never tell where their influence stops.”

The school ultimately selected two organizations to receive the collected items, Holy Cross Services of Lansing and Cristo Rey Community Center.

Holy Cross Services of Lansing is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of services for people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless. Every year, this system serves over 7,000 homeless veterans, adults, and children. Cristo Rey Community Center is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing basic needs to vulnerable populations across the Lansing community, including providing access to medical care, mental health services, and a free food pantry. Their food access programs serve individuals and families in the area who are food insecure or suffer from hunger.

To conclude the food drive, a handful of eighth-grade scholars gathered the items from the classrooms around the school and tallied what was collected. In total, the school collected and donated 180 non-perishable food items.

“At Lansing Charter Academy, it is important for us to teach our students about gratitude, and the importance of virtues,” said Phoebe Perkins, principal at Lansing Charter Academy. “Virtues help create a mindset and culture that fosters positive and genuine relationships that exhibit appreciation towards others. I will always be grateful.”

Items collected during the drive were delivered to the organizations last week, just in time for Thanksgiving preparations.

In addition to the food drive, kindergarten through second-grade students also showed their gratitude last week by inviting their grandparents to a special donut and juice gathering. Over 40 families joined in the celebration with lots of smiling faces. Keith Stradley, lower elementary dean, organized the event and spent time handing out donuts and conversing with families.

“We are very thankful for our families and grandparents,” said Stradley. “We wanted to show them our gratitude by giving them a special treat just to say thank you for all the work they do with our students.”