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Wheaton school collects food in honor of classmate

When he died from brain cancer in May 2013, Ross MacNeill was a fifth-grader at Longfellow Elementary School in Wheaton.

His classmates have moved on, but the school hasn't forgotten him.

This week, the Longfellow community has been taking part in a food drive with the goal of collecting 1,033 pounds of canned goods and other nonperishable items for the People's Resource Center.

Last year, the school set a goal to collect 433 pounds of food - 400, gym teacher Barb Williams said, for each student in the school, and 33 in a nod to the number Ross wore on his hockey jersey.

Ultimately, the kids, families and staff were able to collect 1,033 pounds of food - an amount they hope to meet or exceed this week.

Each day, the students are given an update on the pounds of food that have been collected during lunch. They also sing the refrain of the Bruno Mars song, "Count on Me," and have been wearing orange, which was Ross' favorite color, every day.

On Tuesday, the students got a visit from Ross' mother, Kim MacNeill, who thanked them for their support. The foundation founded in her son's name works not only to raise money for pediatric cancer research, but also to help the homeless.

"(There is) lots of learning going on about how we need to reach out to others and help the less fortunate," Williams said.

As of Thursday, the school had collected 988 pounds of food.

Kim MacNeill thanks Longfellow Elementary School students for hosting a food drive this week in honor of her son, Ross, who died in May 2013 at age 11. Courtesy of Barb Williams
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