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Students at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton learned how giving is better than getting this week as they distributed food and goods to 500 families.
Since Nov. 11, students, staff and parents have been standing in front of local markets to collect goods and monetary donations to feed needy families, according to teacher Andy Stuart.
Students organized the gifts Thursday and needy families picked them up Friday at the school, located at 555 Middlefield Road. On Saturday, students will deliver the boxes to the remaining families.
“Each class set a goal and worked to meet it. What makes our school so great is that we can all work together,” Stuart said. “The old cliche, ‘when you help others you help yourself,’ rings true.”
The program began about 30 years ago when the schools legendary coach Ben Parks, who himself came from a “tough background,” started the tradition, Stuart said.
The school’s three leadership classes, taught by Stuart and two other teachers, have taken responsibility for coordinating and motivating the other classes to donate their time and meet their goals.
Each family will receive a box with about two weeks of goods, including vegetables, chicken and rice. An anonymous donor also stepped forward to include a Target gift card to each family so they can purchase their own gifts, Stuart said.
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