Giving back to others.
Harvest of Love is a food drive that takes place all around Colorado Springs and Pueblo schools, where teachers and students raise money and non-perishable food for people in need. The Harvest of Love fundraiser starts on November 1st and ends November 30th every year, like it has for the past 26 years, with Doherty winning with the most money and food raised in 1998 since then we have won every year with the most food donations. We started raising so much over the years that we had to start using semi-trucks in order to fit all the food that we collected from students and teachers. Last year we raised 14,000 lbs of food and over 40,000 dollars.
Miss Mac, also known as Catherine Bowie, the Student Council sponsor and lead organizer for Harvest of Love, spoke for our assembly. She has been helping run Harvest of Love for 26 years. She shows her passion for it. She really moves the crowd with her emotions and tone. Miss Mac said at the assembly ”17 million children (about the population of New York) nationwide go hungry everyday.” She gave the crowd important information, so they are aware of what is happening in the world. She explained that kids aren’t as mindful of other people’s situations as they should be. In the assembly, council members reminded us that a little goes a long way for a family who is going hungry, trying to influence us students to bring in food and listing what is especially helpful to bring for families.
Harvest of Love Assembly and money for Care and Share is gather, sort and All the money and food donated goes to Care and Share food banks, with their website saying ”our core purpose is the bridge the gap between hunger and abundance.” The three steps of raising and collecting food distribute. First, they receive donated low-cost perishables from suppliers; these suppliers can range from a whole company down to one student. Next is to sort, and they have staff and volunteers sort all the food out at the care and share food bank. Lastly, all the sorted food goes to their partnered food pantries and is distributed to people in need.
Doherty takes part in giving back to others in need. Joshua Seilaff says, “It’s a great idea to give back to the community and those ware less fortunate.” He also says, “All the schools that participate in Harvest of Love make a huge difference for others.” Joshua Seilaff is new to our school and hasn’t experienced Harvest of Love until this year, but he speaks greatly on the effects of the tradition and truly thinks it has a great impact on people.
Senior Olivia Givens-Moore said, It’s good to get food for people who need it and raise money for others, but the competition takes away from the point and loses its generosity.” At the end of Harvest of Love the school gives a trophy to the class who raised the most points, and although that’s exciting, most people think it takes away from the genuine act of kindness. Olivia participates in Harvest of Love and gives what she can, when she can.
The school puts out posters to remind us of what day to bring certain foods for families in need. They have a table set up to collect money for people who want to donate, and student council goes around collecting money as well. They are a huge part of this fundraiser.
Doherty participates greatly in Harvest of Love by doing activities such as student/teacher basketball games, hosting theater events where proceeds went towards Harvest, as well as kids dressing up in costumes for a dollar that also went to Harvest.
