Schaumburg students trick-or-treat for food donations, not candy

Students and faculty at Schaumburg High School admit it: the Saxons never met a challenge they didn't like.

Take their annual canned food drive for the Schaumburg Township Food Pantry. It wrapped up Monday, and going into it, members of the Students Helping Others (SHO) group hoped to exceed last year's total of 1,000 cans.

This year, they more than tripled that number, bringing in a whopping 3,500 cans and toiletries.

"Schaumburg High School is pretty good about exceeding standards," said senior Sophia Lipov of Hoffman Estates, one of five officers with Students Helping Others.

Members of the service club started collecting food on Halloween, going trick-or-treating for canned goods instead of candy.

"A lot of people remembered from last year and they had donations prepared next to their front door," said senior officer Manasi Daze of Hoffman Estates, who collected 250 items from her trick-or-treating efforts.

Another senior, Brianna Blackshire of Hanover Park, led club members by bringing in 300 canned goods. She conceded that not all were from trick-or-treating. Some organizations and local grocery stores gave her checks, which she spent on food.

"I really got into it this year," Blackshire said. "I'm really committed to this."

On Monday, students and staff arrived at school to see service club members lined up behind long tables, waiting to accept their canned goods and box them up for delivery to the food pantry.

"We had an overwhelming response. It's incredible how much the students got into it this year," Daze added. "I think they know how hard the recession has hit homes in the area."

Working in an assembly-line fashion, a front line of SHO members greeted students and faculty, before handing off their donations to those working behind them preparing the boxes.

Their massive turnout came at a good time, said Anna Klimkowicz who works in the township's general assistance department.

"After the summer, our shelves get really low," said Klimkowicz, who also serves on the Schaumburg-Palatine High School District 211 board. "The timing is perfect."

She says the food pantry now averages serving 350 households a month, up from 275 one year ago. However, recent drives hosted by St. Hubert Catholic Church in Hoffman Estates, the Hoffman Estates Jaycees, area Scout troops, and the Schaumburg High School band program all have helped replenish the shelves.

"We're seeing a lot more households who are dealing with unemployment and job searching," Klimkowicz says, "so the pantry has been a great help to them."

Elizabeth Howard, the social studies teacher who moderates Schaumburg's service club, is not surprised.

"In a very good way, I'm no longer amazed," Howard says. "Our students are aware that the needs of the community are greater this year, and this is one way for them to help out."