Desmelik’s Spanish classes decorated boxes so the Spanish Club could collect cans on their canned food walk. Photo by Adriana Barnes
By Catherine Lemel
Along with the spring flowers, cans are popping up around the Brevard High School campus as the Spanish club is hosting its annual canned food drive. It collects donations for the Sharing House, a local charity that provides people in need with clothes, financial assistance, and food.
Claire Desmelik, Spanish teacher and adviser of the Spanish Club, said that the drive raised over 1,000 cans. She said she hosted a competition between her three classes to see who could bring in the most cans, and whoever did wins a piñata party. Desmelik also gave her classes another incentive: if they donated at least 150 cans they receive a movie day during one day in class. She said, “I have placed these incentives but I also want the students to realize that they are feeding the homeless and contributing to their community.”
The donations go to the Sharing House because there is a competition between the schools in Transylvania County to see how many cans each school can collect and the winning school receives a prize.
The Spanish Club and Desmelik’s classes collected 1,018 cans and food items to donate to the Sharing House of Brevard. Photo by Adriana Barnes
Separately, the Spanish Club did a canned food walk, going door to door to collect donations. Desmelik said, “The
students in the Spanish club were dropped off at different streets in town and they walked door to door with a letter of authentication from Jeff McDaris, the superintendent, and a box collecting any cans that people were willing to give out.” Desmelik said that three girls, Allie Williams, Kelsie Koffman, and Jody Bettencourt collected the most cans on the walk and were rewarded with free lunch at Cielito Lindo.
Desmelik also said that for the four years that she has been doing this, the number of cans has always gone up from 400 the first year, 500 the second, 700 the third and, 1,018 this year. She said, “My expectations have been exceeded and I hope that each year the number of cans increases.”