Huntington Students Stuff the Bus
with Food
There has always been hunger in the Huntington community, but the economic hardship that has engulfed so many local families has driven up the number of those in need of help.
The Huntington High School G.O. has responded to the growing ranks of the hungry with a campaign to collect as many non-perishable food items as possible. At the conclusion of the each annual drive, students and teachers spend a Saturday morning lugging the goods out of the high school building before stuffing an entire school bus with the items before delivering them to local food pantries.
This year's "Stuff the Bus" campaign shattered all previous records for the amount of goods collected. Huntington Coach Corp. donated the use of a bus and the services of a driver. Countless local families will be able to enjoy hundreds of meals because of several dozen service-minded teenagers whose names will never be known to the community at-large.
"Stuff the Bus was awesome," said Fred Bisogno, a Huntington teacher who serves as faculty advisor to the student government along with colleague Anthony Troffa. "The bus driver made us take two trips because he feared the weight from the amount that we collected would be two taxing on the bus. This year more than any other, we had so many different students helping to stuff the bus."
School-wide G.O. and grade level student government officers reported to the high school early Saturday morning and went right to work, carrying hundreds of boxes and individual packages out of the building and onto the bus. At certain points, the teenagers formed a type of "assembly line," passing the boxes from one person to another.
Young Leaders Lends a Hand
"Students with no affiliation to student government came out, as well as Kevin Thorbourne's Young Leaders organization," Mr. Bisogno said. "After a few years, this is exactly what Anthony [Troffa] and I had envisioned when we developed this concept; a concept that would include the whole high school, not just student government."
The bus stuffed with food items made deliveries to the Huntington Food Council adjacent to Manor Field and St. Hugh's food pantry. "They were overwhelmed and impressed with the deliveries," Mr. Bisogno said. "The Food Council estimated our drop off would sustain them for at least a month."
The drive began in February and continued for about one month. "We collected the most food we have ever collected since we started Stuff the Bus four years ago," said Claire Beach, the G.O. vice president. "This year was a great year for Stuff the Bus because we had so many organizations involved that really helped us do what we could not have done without them, including Young Leaders and the National Honor Society."
Huntington High School's National Honor Society, Math Honor Society and the community-based Young Leaders participated in the food collection drive by standing outside of King Kullen and Waldbaum's in Huntington village and seeking donations of non-perishable food items.
A Whopping Success
"Stuff the Bus was a whopping success this year," G.O. President Todd Colvin said. "This year, we tried to set a precedent of increased cooperation between student government and some of the other clubs in the school and it worked out really well. I hope that this is a relationship that can continue after I leave the high school. The entire Huntington community really stepped up to make this a great event. The overflowing bus provided a nice frame of reference as to how much of an impact we had."
"This was our most successful year," Mr. Bisogno said. "Todd Colvin did a tremendous job bringing everyone together. Todd is a natural leader and a great role model for his peers."
Delivering the food and related items to the two large pantries was gratifying for the teenagers. "The St. Hugh's drop was a great experience," Mr. Bisogno said. "They were in the midst of putting together Easter baskets, meals and care packages, so our timing could not have been better. Their volunteers and our students worked hand-in-hand to unload our second delivery. Several times I heard church volunteers say 'this is unbelievable.' To the credit of the St. Hugh's volunteers, our students and advisors were really moved by the sense of community. It honestly felt like we were building a bridge from the high school to our surrounding neighbors and friends. We all came away motivated to do more!"
Ms. Beach said the campaign was "a great success and a lot of fun to be a part of." Her fellow officers and other students involved in the initiative readily agreed. The drive and delivery of the goods left the teenagers feeling as if they had made a real difference in the lives of others.
"This was our most successful year," Mr. Bisogno said. "Todd Colvin did a tremendous job bringing everyone together. Todd is a natural leader and a great role model for his peers."