VAN WERT, OH (WLIO) - Dozens of students spent their morning unloading truck after truck and packing many trailers full of food and other necessary items for the local food pantries. With the efficiency of a well-oiled machine, these students are doing their part to support those in need.
"Everybody comes together as a community, and we get to serve all the people in need. It's just really cool to see how much we get and how much we get to distribute to all the people in need. Especially with the economy and how high prices are, it's especially good to see everybody getting these things." said Addisyn Hileman, a senior at Vantage Career Center.
For 25 years, the Vantage Career Center has participated in the Day of Caring, serving its 13 associated school districts across Putnam, Paulding, Mercer, and Van Wert Counties.
"We typically ask for baby items, hygiene items, and non-perishables. No glass items, nothing that needs to go in the fridge, and then typically, we try to bring in as much as possible. We're not picky about it." explained Kaitlyn Sully, a senior at Vantage Career Center.
In addition to collecting over ten thousand food items for distribution, the students gathered food donations from various places across Van Wert County. The donated items were sorted out before being distributed to those in need. Meanwhile, more students down the street were looking to donate over 100 units of blood to the Red Cross Blood Drive.
"It's an awesome feeling being able to give back to the community, and being from Paulding County, it's cool to be able to help out with other communities such as Van Wert and see all the things they're doing for the people. With the prices of everything and how expensive things are, it's cool to see us get this stuff out to these families and help them out a little bit," stated Jude Stoller, a senior at Vantage Career Center.
The Day of Caring is a valuable lesson that will stay with Vantage students beyond graduation as they make their mark on the world.
