Thanks to the generous support of the Camas community, CHS surpassed its goal of collecting over 40,000 pounds of food and reclaimed the Stuff the Bus trophy from Washougal High School.
Once the final buses from Camas and Washougal High Schools were weighed, it was announced that the grand total for this event was nearly 70,000 pounds of canned food. The winner of this competition was the school that posted the greatest increase over last year’s donations. While the Panthers brought in slightly less than they did in 2010 (28,500 lbs. v. 30,980 lbs.), the Papermakers collected 40,220 lbs….only 20 pounds short of last year’s record-breaking total. That is a lot more than the 25,000 lbs we raised in 2008, the first year of this event.
While the effort was spearheaded by CHS Leadership students, it was our community donors who made this undertaking such a success. According to CHS President Ashley Sturza, “It was truly a team effort.” Our elementary and middle schools rose to the occasion and raised an incredible amount of food, CHS students and staff – as well with our district office – contributed countless hours and dollars to the cause, and our CHS families and supporters overwhelmed us with their generosity.
While the event netted thousands of cans of food, it also raised thousands of dollars (nearly $8,000!) that were spent at local grocery stores. The end result defied expectations; organizers feared that donations would be “down” this year. It just goes to show what can be accomplished a common goal, a little teamwork, and – of course – a lot of “Papermaker Pride”!