Mr. Hines’ senior IB History class won the Manna Canned Food Drive this year with a total of 540 cans. RM students participated in the annual canned food drive during the week of October 24 to October 28. The drive was held through first period classes, and the competition was fierce. In the first few days, Mr. Beach and Mrs. Gaffney’s classes fought back and forth for the top spot. Ultimately, Mr. Hines’ class won. Mr. Kreske’s class took second place, trailing by only 38 cans, and Mr. Thomas’ class came in third, with around 250 cans.

RM collected a total of 2106 cans this year, an average amount compared to the number of cans collected in past years. Apart from the top three winners, three other first period classes managed to accumulate more than 100 cans: Mr. Beach’s, Mrs. Gaffney’s, and Mrs. Liles’. Those three classes, along with Mr. Kreske’s and Mr. Thomas’ classes, will receive doughnuts and juice. Mr. Hines’ winning class will be rewarded with a tasty breakfast from the omelette man.

Despite winning first place, Mr. Hines keeps in mind the larger goal of the event. “We’re doing something good for the people. That’s the main thing I emphasize, it’s not about us getting a breakfast, that’s a motivation factor in the competition, but you have to focus on the larger good. People need to be generous because of that.”

SGA advisor Toni Kellinger echoed the sentiments of Mr. Hines. “I think that this fundraiser is important because it collects food for our local food bank, Manna. It all stays in our local community and helps feed people that need it,” she said. “It is important for kids to stop and think, especially those that have so much, to think about those that don’t have enough in our society.”

RM has participated in the canned food drive for several years now, and continued to post impressive numbers this year. “Richard Montgomery High School consistently ranks among the top schools in the county for the quantity of donations,” said Tihitina Aytenfisu, a senior on the SGA Executive Board.

“What’s a little disappointing is that you have so many classes that don’t bring in a can at all,” said Mrs. Kellinger. “But then you always have these classes that go crazy and they collect hundreds and hundreds of cans, which is good.”

Aytenfisu agrees, crediting the success of classes to the collaboration between the students and the teacher. “Both teachers and students recognize the value of the drive,” she said. “Much of the event’s success is attributed to teachers who go out of their way to get students to donate cans or money so that one student can buy cans with the money the Thursday of that week.” Aytenfisu encouraged all classes to participate actively in the drive.

“Since most of my students don’t drive I collect money and then I go to the store and I’ll buy the cans for them. The one day I asked for money, I was surprised because so many kids were just ripping out cash, which was great,” said Mr. Beach, whose class collected over 200 cans. “I think next year we’re going to try and find a day where we’re all, me and my class will meet a grocery store and we can just stand out front and ask people who are going in to give us some donations.”

However, it is important to note that there are a few restrictions on the types of cans for the drive. Dented cans, expired cans and single ingredient cans, such as tomato paste, are not suitable for this drive. “Kids used to bring in cases of tomato paste and that’s not something that the food bank really wants,” said Mrs. Kellinger.

Despite the continual success of the drive, the SGA members unanimously agreed on their biggest challenge. “Even though we ask classes to not save their cans for the last day, they save them for the last day so we wind up picking up hundreds and hundreds of cans on that last day. But, that’s a challenge we can live with,” said Mrs. Kellinger.

SGA’s annual canned food drive provides an opportunity for students at RM to give back to their community, an important aspect that motivates students to participate. “We say in Judaism it’s a mitzvah, to take care of others before yourself,” said Mr. Hines. Manna aids 40,000 residents of Montgomery County annually, and with the help of RM students and staff, many will be able to enjoy a nice meal this November.