New Mountain Hill Elementary first school to donate canned food to FOCUS apart of Red Ribbon Week

HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. (WRBL)— New Mountain Hill Elementary School (NMHE) has collected over 10,000 cans of food in the past several years for a local organization, this year that season of giving continues.

Students gathered 2,256 food items in one week for Red Ribbon Week canned food drive to donate to the Fellowship of Christians United in Service (FOCUS). The friendly competition was done to teach 'empathy,' apart of the school's STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) projects.

"A big part of our STEAM projects here is learning empathy and how we can give back to our community, right here in Harris County. That's why we partner with FOCUS to give back," Principal of NMHE, Jessica Burnett said. "We want our kids to know that just because they're tiny humans doesn't mean they can't have a big impact on their community."

FOCUS is a Christ-centered, non-profit organization in Harris County that provides a number of serviced including a choice market food pantry. FOCUS says senior citizens make up 60% of the poverty rate in Harris County and are the largest demographic the organization connects with.

"The timing of this drive is amazing. We're going to see a lot more families than we normally would in any given season," Associate Director of FOCUS, Curt Ellis shared. "Right now, we normally see 75 to 100 families. We definitely expect that to go up with the holiday season."

Students loaded up food items Wednesday morning; however, this is not the only opportunity students get to give back.

"It's important to give back to the community, because when we grow food in our gardens, we give it the FOCUS," Student Peyton Tuggle said describing the school's gardens where hundreds of bags of produce have been harvested and donated.

"Some of the things I'm learning through STEAM is it's okay to fail because they always give you another chance," student Audrey Jenkins said. "We grow lots of foods in our gardens, in Plant-a-Palooza. That's one of the many days that we give food to FOCUS."

NMHE was not the only school who organized a food drive for FOCUS. NMHE was the first school scheduled for a pickup Wednesday. Pine Ridge Elementary among other schools in the district participated as well.

Coming up: First Annual Variety Show & Canned Food Drive

"We are thrilled to invite the public to our first-ever Variety Show & Canned Food Drive," said Anita Wadley, a representative from Harris County Schools. "The students have been working hard to prepare an evening that's not only entertaining but also impactful, bringing the community together for a great cause."

The Variety Show is happening Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in FOCUS's new building located at 80 Palmetto Creek Lane in Hamilton, Ga.

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