CanCan Challenge helps fill shelves and shopping carts

NEWS RELEASE
ALGOMA DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
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Earlier this fall, the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) became aware of an immediate need for food and necessities at local food banks and shelters throughout Algoma District.

As one of ADSB’s character traits is “caring”, the Algoma District School Board determined that one of its first initiatives would be a focus on canned food drives to run after Thanksgiving and through the month of October across the district.

ADSB Director Lucia Reece spoke about the food drive. “As we approached Thanksgiving we found ourselves thinking that, at this time of year, we give thanks – and we give back. We encouraged our school communities throughout the district to determine which agencies or organizations had the most urgent need and to direct their contributions accordingly. I’m very proud of how our schools and staff responded with hundreds of items being collected and donated to shelters and food banks across the district.”

Korah Collegiate kicked things off early in October with a creative challenge to other schools in the Algoma District. Called the CanCan Challenge, it featured the school’s girls’ basketball team doing a version of the CanCan and issuing the challenge to collect as many canned food items as possible to fill the shelves of local food banks.

Many Algoma District School Board schools took up the challenge along with community members and hundreds of boxes of items were delivered to agencies and food banks throughout the Algoma District including Sault Ste. Marie, Elliot Lake, Blind River, Wawa, Hornepyane and Chapleau.

At Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, ADSB Director Lucia Reece and Chair Jennifer Sarlo took time to thank all the schools who saw a need in their communities and who responded so generously.

Together they also applauded the efforts of the ADSB Education Centre staff who filled three shopping carts to over flowing with canned food items, toiletries and other necessities. It was determined that the contents of the yellow shopping carts (kindly donated by Joe’s No Frills) would go to this year’s Christmas Cheer campaign.

Dianne Marshall, Christmas Cheer executive director, was on hand at Tuesday’s meeting to accept the donations on behalf of Christmas Cheer. She expressed her thanks to ADSB, saying they are more grateful then ever for donations and support as Christmas Cheer faces reduced funding this year.

ADSB Plant Department will be delivering the hundreds of items to the Christmas Cheer depot when it opens for the season on Monday, Nov. 13.

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